The Initiation
by Love2Love
Summary: Hermione's plan was simple: get close to Draco and keep him from joining Voldemort. Throw in a cover up plan with the sixth years, a few unexpected and dangerous situations, and a bit of confusion and it isn't quite so simple after all.
1. A Startling Dream

**A/N- This is my first fanfic ever and I really don't know how well it's going to turn out, I'm hoping at least one person will like it. I guess my one request is that you guys write a review, is it good or bad, how do you think it could be better. I'd really appreciate it. The characters, I know, are at least a little OOC but I tried and there is only so much you can do right? I'm hoping the more I right the more in character they will get, I guess I'll have to wait and see.**

**Thank you to Joycy who pinpointed a mistake in this chapter! I'm very grateful. Seriously. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, never will, end of story.**

_Full summary – Hermione is asked to stop Draco Malfoy from involving himself with Lord Voldemort, except Draco can't know about it. As a cover-up, the Order plans an assignment, except the students involved have to cover that up. Little twists and plots envelope the entire school, there is new love, old love coming back, unspoken love, jealous love, and rival love. Hermione finds herself helping her enemy with things she never would have before, and Draco realizes Hermione's life is far more complicated then he ever imagined._

A Startling Dream

Hermione briskly walked down the long corridor in the direction of Professor McGonagall's office. Earlier that morning she had gotten a letter from said professor requesting her attendance in her office at 8:00 pm. Hermione was a woman of her word so at exactly 8:00 she stopped outside the door marked 'Professor McGonagall' and knocked politely. Upon hearing a sharp 'enter', she opened the door and stepped inside.

Two walls were lined with bookshelves crammed with books, and a third window overlooked the Hogwarts grounds. Professor McGonagall sat behind her orderly desk with the same crisp bun she'd had throughout all their years and a precise manner.

"Ah, miss Granger. Take a seat." She said, gesturing to the wooden chair in front of her desk. Hermione did as was told and was uncomfortably aware of the sharp points digging into her back, she thought to the squishy red armchairs in the Gryffindor tower where she had left her two friends.

FLASHBACK

"What does she want you for anyway?" Harry asked, looking up from his charms essay.

"I don't really know, it's probably about Prefect Duties or something. We've had an increasing number of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products being used that cause disturbances in the hall. Honestly, those two should keep them off limits to Hogwarts students. Besides," she sniffed, letting her companions know exactly how she felt about them. "They only get confiscated anyway.

"I suppose the children just go right back and buy more. Do they think becoming a public nuisance is 'good for the business?' It's ridiculous. And all their claims of what they've done to infuriate the teachers only brings more mischievous children to them! Of course that's _after_ they test their products on innocent bystanders! In my opinion-" Hermione's ranting was cut off by Harry.

"Hermione," Harry cut in hastily after throwing a desperate look at Ron, who mouthed 'She'd bite my head off!' "Aren't you going to be late if you don't leave now?" Hermione looked at her watch, squeaked and dashed through the portrait hole, leaving Harry and Ron by the fire.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Miss Granger, I am aware that you are the top student in nearly all of your classes, several of the Hogwarts teachers speak very highly of you, and I know you are one of our most trustworthy students." Her expression grew serious, "That is why I tell you this in confidence. No one else should know. Not Potter, not Weasley, no one."

Hermione straightened, she put on a calm, serious face and listened intently. She knew what an honor it was to have Professor McGonagall, and the Headmaster, trust her so much, though she had no idea what was coming.

"Draco Malfoy is being initiated into the Dark Lord's ranks at the end of this year." Hermione gasped in shock. Obviously Harry had brought the subject up many times and Ron referred the blond as a Death Eater, but she'd never thought he would actually _become _one.

"We only know this because the Order came across a man delirious from torture. We believe he was a Death Eater because he mentioned the Dark Lord's name several times. He was admitted to Saint Mungos in secrecy, but it was too late to do anything for him. Most of his ramblings were about things that have happened in the past 10-15 years, and any other information we did gain I cannot disclose to you.

"Professor Snape is the only one Draco trusts that could talk him out of the initiation, but it is far too risky. If he fails, and Draco reports it, then his position will be discovered and he will be killed. The Order thinks it would be best if he gained trust in someone that could help him change his mind. Our first thought was, of course, another Slytherin. But we don't know how many of their parents are Death Eaters and they too, could be killed. We will not risk the life of a student, no matter how willing or unwilling they are.

"We pondered this, and eventually came to the same conclusion. We need someone he feels strongly about, someone close to the subject, someone who is clever, cunning, brave, and strong. Of course the Gryffindor house is known for several of these qualities, and we have all agreed on the most fitted person for this."

_Holy Merlin she means me! _Hermione thought as realization hit her.

"You." Professor McGonagall finished.

"M-me?" Hermione said incredulously, "You can't possibly-he _hates_ me!"

"We are aware, Miss Granger, of his strong feelings of dislike for you. We are equally aware of his daily verbal attacks on you, and your equally strong retaliations." Hermione looked down and prepared to be scolded.

"That is why we chose you." Hermione's head shot up so fast in surprise there was a loud _crack_. "Every teacher who has ever witnessed these attacks has seen you physically hold back Mr. Potter and from engaging in a muggle fight, while you quickly defend anyone insulted. This shows that you do not resort to violence and you are not easily fazed, or appear to be." Hermione was startled to find that any teacher had witnessed these events and was slightly disgruntled that most of them had obviously not intervened.

"If you manage to succeed you have not only assisted the Order and our plan to overthrow He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, perhaps you and Mr. Malfoy will become friends and put the past behind you." Hermione felt revolted at the idea of _friendship_ with Malfoy.

"Erm,yes. But Professor do you really think I can do it?" Hermione inquired while she fidgeted with her fingers. _Stop Hermione! What has gotten into you, you never fidget in the presence of a teacher! _The fidgeting ceased.

"Of course," she said looking down her nose at the petite girl in front of her. "Why don't you think about it tonight and owl me in the morning, to keep this meeting conspicuous." Hermione smiled, relieved that she would have time to consider her decision carefully.

"Goodnight, Miss Granger."

"Goodnight Professor." Hermione stood up stiffly and walked to the door. She glanced back and was sure she saw a genuine smile on Professor McGonagall' face, before it was coved with her usual piercing look. Smiling to herself, she slipped out the door and headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room and a welcoming bed.

Hermione said the password (Obesta Tislandi) and climbed through the Portrait hole. Harry and Ron were still by the fire, though Ron appeared to be sleeping while Harry jabbed at his paper. The dark haired male glanced up irritably at the giggling girls in the corner, who waved at him then started giggling again. Blushing, he looked away and saw Hermione.

"Hermione could you help me? I am dying here, I can't concentrate at all and those girls have been there all night! We're supposed to have three feet and I have one and half and I have no idea what I should do." He gave her a pleading look, which made the girls in the corner send her dirty looks and mutter things to each other. Ron was muttering gibberish in his sleep, and much to Hermione's disgust had drool hanging from his mouth.

Digging into her bag, Hermione brought out her five foot essay and handed it to Harry, while saying, "Here, just copy the important stuff down, I need to go to bed." Ignoring his astonished gaze, she walked to the stairs on the right that led to the girls' dormitories.

"Hermione," Harry called, so she turned around and looked at him expectantly. "What did McGonagall want?" Usually Hermione would have corrected him by saying _'Professor_ McGonagall Harry,' because she found their lack of respect annoying, but she was too tired and her mind was too busy thinking about the situation to care.

So instead she just said, "Just some things about my classes. Nothing important," and then turned and made her way up the stairs. Lavender and Parvati were already sleeping peacefully, and Hermione had no doubt at least one of them was dreaming about boys.

Hermione thought back to when she had never heard about Voldemort, about the Order, and all the "rescue missions" she had taken part in. Just an average everyday life, her biggest worry being that she would fail one of her classes. But she would never go back, because that was a life without Harry and Ron, and that would be unbearable. They were her best friends, they had grown up together. She'd gone from being a bushy haired, buck toothed, lanky girl to having nice teeth(thanks to Madame Pomfrey in fourth year) a nicer figure, though nothing on those of Lavender and Parvati and the bushiness in her hair had gone down a bit

Of course Harry and Ron had changed too. Harry's hair was as untidy as ever, if not more, but he'd grown taller and being at Hogwarts had helped his body grow muscle. His eyes were very nice, too, if she took the time to look into them. In fact, he was considered the most good looking boy in school, aside from Draco Malfoy who had all the Slytherin girls under his control. Hermione personally thought his face was too pointy.

She had brotherly feelings for both he and Ron, though it was somewhat different with the Weasley. She and Ron had fancied each other for awhile, not openly of course, but neither of them pursued a relationship, and that had faded away. Hermione knew that Harry was rather relieved because he hated choosing sides. Ron had longer hair and it was more orderly than Harry's. Since playing Quidditch he'd also become more confident, though his academic progress was painfully the same.

But they were the best friends anyone could have and she was so grateful she had friends that would do anything for her. Malfoy, she concluded, though she hadn't realized she'd been comparing them, had no one. Crabbe and Goyle weren't intelligent and probably wouldn't realize that Malfoy was in mortal danger until after he was dead. There was Blaise Zabini, who had a sharp tongue, but he wasn't around Malfoy very much so she didn't know if he was another one of his Death Eater friends or just an acquaintance.

By then Hermione had changed into her soft pink nightie and she climbed into her bed, enjoying the feeling of the soft comforter. She was soon drifting to sleep…

"_Hermione, come with me." Draco said seductively, taking a step towards Hermione. She told herself not to, but he didn't look dangerous. As he extended a hand towards her, his silver eyes bored deep into her own. Hermione didn't even hesitate; she took it. Draco led her away from Harry and Ron, who watched her walk away from them and laughed at her. _

_Draco led her through trees that became thicker and taller until Hermione could only see darkness and feel Draco's icy fingers in her hand. But still, she followed him with trust and no fear._

"_Where are we Draco?" Hermione asked quietly. Draco pulled his cold hands from her grasp and terror engulfed her like a glove, squeezing her tightly and taking her breath away._

"_Draco? Draco don't leave me! What is it?" She was panicking uncharacteristically, watching as he began to step back._

_A tall hooded figure came out from behind a gravestone. She frantically searched for Draco; his touch; his comfort, but found nothing. Hooded figures appeared around her, forming a tight circle, with one empty spot._

"_Draco…Join us. Rid the earth of filthy mudbloods and muggles. You could be powerful, we could rule the world together" A voice hissed from behind the hood of the cloak, while Draco stared, entranced. He pulled the sleeve of his left arm up to his shoulder, revealing smooth unscarred skin. He walked slowly to the figure and stopped a meter away, but he was looking at Hermione._

"_Draco no! Don't leave me! Please don't leave me! You don't have to do this!" She screamed, her voice shaking and her eyes filled with tears. _

"_Yes I do." He looked deeply into Hermione's eyes and she searched desperately for emotion, but found none. He turned to the cloaked figure and nodded, a wand was lifted to his arm and the man muttered a spell Hermione could not hear. There was silence, then a blinding red light filled the area and Hermione felt her heart break when she heard him screaming. The light faded and Draco stood there, drenched in sweat and panting. On his arm there was a jet black Dark Mark._

"_Take your mask and put it on. Then kill the mudblood girl." The voice hissed. A mask appeared before Draco and he reached out and took it._

"_No Draco! Please! Don't go to Voldemort!" All the Death Eaters hissed when they heard their master's name. "Don't leave me!" Hermione shrieked, her shoulders shook as she sobbed uncontrollably. Draco walked over to her and lifted her chin, then he kissed her. The kiss held no emotion, and Hermione only felt colder. He took a couple steps backwards and took a wand out of his robes, Hermione fought to break free of the two Death Eaters that held her, but they were too strong._

"_Don't leave me!" Hermione cried, "I love you!" _

"_I'm sorry. __**Avada Kedavra.**__"____Draco shouted and Hermione's scream was silenced._

Hermione's eyes flew open but she couldn't see; everything was just a mixture of colors, so she closed them again. She took deep breathes and tried to calm her racing heartbeat, and opened her eyes again. For some reason the sight of people standing a circle around her terrified her and she tried to scream. Someone clamped a hand over her mouth and with the dream still circling in her mind she bit it.

"Hermione are you alright?" An anxious voice she identified as Harry's asked her worriedly. "Lavender banged on our door saying you were having a seizure! We-"

Lavender smirked evilly, looking excited "Did you know that Dean sleeps _nude_?" Dean's skin darkened further and Seamus snickered.

"I do not!" Dean protested, embarrassed.

"Yes, you do." She said, shaking her head. "I saw your-"

"Shut up, will you?" Ron snapped and the room was silent again.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "They carried you into the Common Room because we couldn't get up to you or the stairs would have turned into a slide. You've been crying and saying things, but we couldn't wake you up."

"Probably because she kicked anyone who came close enough." Muttered a still blushing Dean. It was then that Hermione realized that the sixth years around her looked quite harassed, including Ron, who she seemed to have bitten.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, sitting up and taking deep breaths to clear her thoughts. "I had a bad nightmare…Did I…By any chance…Say anything?" Hermione asked fearfully, afraid that they had heard her say Draco's name. It must have been her thinking of the assignment that prompted such strange thoughts, because she had only feelings of hate for Draco.

"Well…" Ron exchanged meaningful looks with Harry. "You said 'don't leave me' a lot, erm… 'I'll help you'… and also… 'Don't go to'…"

"Voldemort." Harry said, continuing Ron's unfinished sentence.

"You also said…" Ron said so quietly only Hermione could hear, "'I love you."' He said this slightly louder and Lavender and Parvati began to whisper excitedly.

"Oh, well isn't that odd? If that's all I think I'll-" Hermione started to get up but Parvati held her down.

"Oh that's not all. In our dormitory you said _another_ significant name." Parvati and Lavender smirked at each other. Hermione gave them a please-don't-tell look which made them grin wider. Hermione mentally smacked herself repeatedly.

"I don't suppose you have feelings for this person?" Lavender asked deviously, and turned to Parvati. "Oh, Madame, dance with me, please!" She said in a deep masculine voice while she extended her hand.

"Oh Monsieur, I would be delighted!" Parvati squeaked and took the hand. The two began to waltz around the room. The boys gaped in disbelief that they could act so ridiculously, and that they were behaving so strangely.

"These moments we've shared have been the best of my life! Marry me!" Cried Lavender as she got down on one knee and flung her arms out dramatically.

Parvati gasped and put her wrist over her forehead, "Oh, I can't, I love someone else!" Parvati left Lavender and ran towards Harry. She flung her arms around him and began kissing him rather heartedly.

Parvati released a rather dazed and confused looking Harry and giggled, before saying dramatically, "Hermione Granger's secret love is…'"

"Draco Malfoy!" Lavender beamed excitedly.

Hermione burst out into nearly hysterical laughter from nerves, which broke off abruptly. "Me, love Malferret? That's ridiculous! Honestly, you two, your fantasizing has gone off the edge!" She got up, making sure the boys looked satisfied by her response. They did. "I'm sorry about the disruption, but let's just keep this quiet, alright?"

They agreed and she said a quick goodnight, before hurrying upstairs. Little did anyone know Hermione had made a very important decision; that nightmare had given her the answer she needed. It didn't seem to make sense, really, that she was willing to sacrifice time and effort to save him from the dark side, but it had been so ominous and despite her scorn at Divination, it seemed to be a sign.

She had no other dreams.

-

Minerva McGonagall sipped her tea, reading the Daily Prophet with an expression of distaste. _The usual rubbish. _She closed it with an irritated sigh as an owl dropped a letter onto her plate. With a significant look at Albus she unfolded it carefully, wondering for the umpteenth time if she had decided to do it.

There were three words in the letter.

_I'll do it._

The Transfiguration professor looked up and nodded sharply at the Headmaster, who smiled, eyes twinkling.

**Author's Note (Jan 2, 2009): Hm. I've just reconfigured this chapter slightly because it was so horrible I was blushing from shame. Anyways, its basically the same, with a few edits. **

**A/N: Please review! I'd really like to know your opinion!**


	2. The Assignment

**/N- The first thing I am going to do is say thanks to my very first reviewer joeyluver-dragonofra, and also to my 2nd and 3rd Kandygurl4 and InspyredUpdate- I've edited these chapter for things I really don't like, and I want to let everyone know that it starts in the month of October, not September.**

**Edited April 10-11, 2009.**

**Disclaimer-I still don't own Harry Potter. Surprise surprise.**

The Assignment

That morning Hermione got up at 6:00. She hadn't slept since her nightmare and had lain in bed thinking about Draco and what she could possibly do for him, which wasn't a lot. She somehow had known since the Professor had asked her that she would say yes - as if she would ever say no to a teacher - and it _was _for the Order, of course. She had to admit that she was worried, though. How was she expected to talk to Draco without looking suspicious? They were both prefects, but at the prefect meetings they didn't even speak to each other and didn't really have a reason to.

Sighing, she grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom that was attached to the girls' dormitories. After turning the shower on she stripped her nightie off, before stepping into the hot water. After ten minutes of scrubbing she stepped out of the shower and pulled on the snug cotton blouse and knee length skirt she would wear under her robes that day. She used her wand to dry her hair and applied some lip gloss and mascara- she wasn't really a big cosmetic user.

Afterwards she went and retrieved one of her favourite booksfrom a table beside her bed and went to curl up in a chair by the fire in the Common Room. She soon found herself absorbed into the pages and didn't realize someone was standing in front of her until they cleared their throat, making her start and nearly drop the book.

"Harry! Hi! Good morning." Hermione was slightly surprised that he was up, it was common knowledge to most of the school that Harry and Ron overslept a lot and they were sometimes seen charging into the Great Hall for breakfast before hurrying off to class.

"Morning." Harry looked at her silently for a moment. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine! It was just a vivid nightmare, is all." Hermione babbled uncharacteristically, shrugging. "It's common for your subconscious to try and connect your conscious emotions to the ones that you try to repress. You should try talking about them, sometime. It would help. After…" She trailed off before she could mention Sirius.

"There's nothing to say." He said sharply, sitting down stiffly on one of the other chairs and setting his jaw. "I don't need to talk about it."

"It's OK to be sad, you know." She said softly, "You don't have to pretend you don't care."

"I'm not _trying_ to pretend I don't care, Hermione." He replied stiffly, "I just don't feel like parading around announcing the fact that I miss him."

"I'm so sorry, Harry. If there's anything I can do…" Her voice was soft and troubled in a way that she knew would annoy him, despite her good wishes.

"Not even you can bring back the dead." He stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets and clambered out the Portrait Hole, leaving her sitting, wounded, by the fire.

Hermione knew Sirius was a touchy subject with Harry, but even more so with her. She had always disapproved of the foolish risks he took and the effect they seemed to have on Harry. But he had given Harry support when it seemed no one else could and she missed him, too. It was hard to observe him after such a loss when she knew he wouldn't talk about it with her.

With those thoughts in her head she got her school bag and got her books, before leaving the way Harry had. Just outside she came face to face with Ginny, who was equally surprised to see her, however also appeared relieved.

"Hermione, I'm so glad I found you! I need some advice." Ginny confessed hurriedly, as though if she didn't say it all fast the other girl would run away. "Its about Dean."

"Oh. Er, OK." She said as they fell into step together and set off in the general direction of the Great Hall. "What is it?"

"Dean is really great." Her friend said unenthusiastically. "He's a great boyfriend. Really nice, and sweet, and considerate, and I really like him. Or at least, I think I do…"

"But…"

"I'm pretty sure I fancy someone else. A lot more. I just don't know if I should break up with him because I like someone else, or if I should wait a bit and see if it just goes back to normal." Ginny was biting her lip and Hermione couldn't help but smile, even though she felt bad for both her and Dean. It was pretty obvious, at least to her, who held Ginny's affections.

"If I was Ron I'd say end it." She said, thinking carefully. "But if you want to break up with Dean because you don't want to hurt him, maybe you should wait. It obviously shows you care about him. But if you want to become available…"

"OK. I get it. Thanks."

"You could always just ask Harry." She continued casually, satisfied as Ginny turned bright red.

"Why would I do that?" The Weasley asked in a nonchalant voice that contradicted her flushed face.

"No reason." She replied devilishly. "I'm sure he's right anyway."

"Right about what?" Ginny asked and was annoyed when the bushy haired girl didn't answer. "Hermione! Hey, come back! What did he say? Right about _what_?"

She turned, grinning evilly. "So you _do_ fancy him, don't you?"

"No! I just want to know what he said!"

"See you at breakfast!" She waved over her shoulder and Ginny was silenced as the amount of people in the hall thickened. In the Great Hall she slipped onto a bench beside Ron, who she hadn't noticed pass her in the Common Room. "Morning."

"Hey 'Mione." Ron said through a mouthful of pancakes. She was feeling ravenous, so she loaded her plate with toast, eggs and pancakes.

Ginny sat down and shot her a you-tell-you-die look and Hermione smirked at her again. Dean pecked his girlfriend on the cheek and wrapped his arm around her, which made Harry look away quickly, while Ron continued to shovel food down his throat. After Ginny had eaten her fill she rested her head on Dean's chest, he, in return, turned her head and kissed her. Ron stopped eating after the embrace lasted longer that a second and Harry pounded him on the back as he started choking.

Sensing troubled she sighed, took a long drink of orange juice and stood up, smacking them both on the head with her rolled up newspaper. Once she had their attention she grabbed their arms, shouldered her bag and somehow managed to drag them out of the Hall.

"Hermione! Didn't you s_ee_-"

"Ron, Ginny deserves to make her own decisions. She can kiss whomever she likes, you have no right to interfere with her love life." She glared at them both for good measure, hands on hips and eerily resembling Molly Weasley.

"What's wrong Weasel? Upset that your snogging buddy found someone new? Or is that what the mudblood is for?" Draco Malfoy had evidently followed them out of the Great Hall, accompanied by Pansy Parkinson and his two lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle.

"That's a bit rich coming from you. Can't go much lower then Parkinson can you?' Hermione snarled and jerked her head at Pansy, as though they might not understand who she spoke of.

"You stupid bitch." Draco spat, while Pansy looked both delighted with memories of snogging Draco and indignant about her last comment.

Harry and Ron, who had been shaking and turned a dark purple as soon as he'd seen Draco, tried to leap forward at him. She threw her arms, shaking her head with a warning look. A second later Professor McGonagall rounded the bend and they froze.

"_What _is going on here?" She asked sharply, her eyes traveling over the group. Harry and Ron had their wands pointed at Draco's chest, and Hermione stood between the three, her arms spread out wide. Pansy was hiding behind Draco and Draco had his wand pointed at Hermione. Professor McGonagall nodded slightly in Hermione's direction to confirm that she'd received her owl.

"I suggest you hurry along to your classes before you're late." The Professor said, even though half the school was still eating breakfast. Draco shot a dirty look at the three and began to stalk down the hallway, followed by the other Slytherins and she, Harry and Ron reluctantly followed.

"I have Ancient Runes, now." She said when they reached two intersecting corridors. "I'll see you in Potions."

The three friends split ways and she hurried to class to make sure she got a seat in the front. No one else was inside so she pulled out her textbook and began to reread the chapter they'd been assigned the previous night. At last everyone else filed inside, minus Draco. Half an hour later he sauntered in, robes slightly askew and hair a bit mussed up.

"Sorry I'm late Professor," Draco said, not sounding at all sorry, "I had some prefect business that had to be taken care of." Hermione snorted, anyone could tell he had not been doing prefect _anything_. No doubt Pansy Parkinson and a broom closet had been involved.

"Got a problem mudblood?" Draco hissed at her, the smooth smirk sliding off his face.

"I was wondering if you paid Parkinson to eat off your face, of if she did it willingly." Hermione replied snappily, glaring back.

"You-"

"Sit down, Mr. Malfoy, you are disrupting class. Twenty points for your foul language." Professor Santrina said, her eyes sparkling with anger. Draco shot Hermione a dirty look and then sat down next to Blaise Zabini, who had been watching them with his head resting in his hand. He never even took notes in this class, which annoyed Hermione, and somehow managed to do well in all their tests and assignments.

"As I was saying, many muggle archeologists have found runes depicting our magic. However, they simply believe they are religious icons made by their inferior. One of the most similar rune we've found to date originates from the Australopithecus time period, however the human beings are depicted in a much less civilized way. The easiest way to identify what time this is from is the psychical characteristics of the people, which match with those of the Australopithecus…"

Hermione listened intently, her quill flying across the paper. She took the occasional second to glare at Draco, who spent the whole time talking to Blaise, looking at her and then sniggering.

"Three rolls of parchment on the theories of Alan Foxric, due on Thursday." Professor Santrina's eyes surveyed them all a moment and then she left the class. She always had to leave the moment the bell rang because she had another class that was conveniently placed on another floor.

She gathered her things quickly, but somehow managed to be the last person in the classroom with Blaise and Draco, who was smirking maliciously at her. Blaise looked quite bored and seemed to be trying to make Draco leave with him, but paused when their eyes met. _Oh no._

"You should really learn to respect your superiors, Granger." Draco hissed, moving closer to her. _Stupid git. _She thought to herself, reaching for her wand.

"Don't be stupid, Malfoy." She backed up to the door and watched with somewhat fascination as his eyes widened, just before she was picked up and thrown against the wall.

-

-

Seamus Finnegan was just coming out of a Boys' bathroom when he heard a loud cry and a thud. Instantly he was tense, reaching for his wand, and jumped when the door to a nearby classroom banged open.

"What the fuck did you just do?" Blaise Zabini ran from inside, followed by Draco Malfoy.

"I didn't do anything-" They saw him and went silent, darting around him and dashing down the hall.

Horrified he ran to the open door and looked inside. "Hermione?"

She was lying at the front of the classroom and there was blood pooled at her head. Immediately he turned around and began to yell for people to get Madame Pomfrey. Afraid that he would hurt her if he touched her he dragged off his robes and then his jumper, using it to stem the bleeding.

_Fucking Malfoy.­_

-

-

When Hermione opened her eyes the first thing she saw was Seamus sitting beside her bed and reading. The absence of Harry and Ron didn't concern her at that moment, because he looked so _cute _with his hair slightly mussed up. She smiled and started to sit up, but her head was pounding and a sharp pain exploded in her arm. Seamus looked up when she yelped.

"Hi." He said, smiling with a concerned look in his face. His pale blue eyes gazed at her and she flushed.

"Er…Hi." She replied, slightly confused. "Where are Harry and Ron?"

"Dinner." He answered, his voice thick with an Irish accent. She'd always loved listening to him talk. "You've been out all day. I found you in the classroom. Hold on - I'm going to go get Madame Pomfrey."

As if by magic Madame Pomfrey appeared from her office with three vials in her arms. Tsking with her tongue, she asked, "What happened?"

"I think I fell down a fight of stairs." She answered, blushing at the lie. Apparently Seamus hadn't told her where he'd found her.

Madame Pomfrey held up the bottle, "Drink, this is for your skull to stop the pain while it heals." She unscrewed a purple bottle, "This is for the pain in your arm," she gave her the other baby blue bottle, "This is a Sleeping Draught."

She was going to protest, but one look at the severe expression on the nurse's face silenced her objections and she took them obediently, forcing her last question through her lips. "How long do I have to stay here for?"

"We're keeping you overnight to make sure your head is alright in the morning. You can leave after breakfast." Answered the slightly older woman and began to shoo Seamus from the room. He grinned at her, waving, and left, before she dropped off to sleep, his smile haunting her dreams.

-

She woke up late that night to shuffling noises and sat up, groping at her head as it throbbed. "Harry? Ron?" She hissed quietly, wondering if they were under the Invisibility Cloak.

"Hermione?" Ron appeared out of nowhere and snuck over to her bed, treading lightly. "Are you OK?"

"Just peachy." She answered in a dazed whisper as Harry appeared beside him. "Why are you two here?"

"To see how you are." The raven haired male answered. "We're going to kill Malfoy."

"Really painfully." The red-head added and she frowned.

"No, don't. I think it might have been an accident, he looked surprised." Her gaze was a bit fuzzy and her eyes kept closing on their own account.

"You don't really fancy Malfoy, do you?" Ron asked, his face illuminated by the moonlight shining through the window.

"No, that's just Lavender and Parvati trying to get attention. You know how they are." She forced a soft laugh, shrugging.

"Seamus'll be glad." Harry muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" She asked, wondering if she'd misheard.

"Nothing." Her friend said quickly. Her stomach was fluttering a bit as she remembered his visit.

"I'm going to fall asleep soon, you two. It's the draught, I think. Still in my system." She yawned loudly, lying back down. "You shouldn't have come so late, if you get caught-"

"Hermione, we can turn invisible." Ron was saying as the world began to blur. Her eyes fluttered shut and then she returned to sleep again.

-

-

The next morning she woke early. The pounding in her head was gone completely and her arm didn't hurt at all. She dressed quickly and walked to the door instinctively, forgetting why she'd been in the Hospital Wing in the first place. Her hand was on the knob when she remembered that Madame Pomfrey said she would let her out after breakfast, no exceptions. She argued briefly with herself before deciding that it wouldn't hurt anyone if she left early and maybe Madame Pomfrey could take a rest. Carefully she turned the doorknob and slipped outside. Without thinking she took a step forward and heard the door close loudly behind her.

"Miss Granger?" Squawked the healer and Hermione set out at a run - Madame Pomfrey's fury was not one she wished to face. As she rounded a corner she looked back to make sure she wasn't pursued and collided with something solid; something that something reached out and steadied her.

"Thanks." Hermione said breathlessly to Seamus, her stomach flip flopping from his presence.

"Why are you up so early? And why in Merlin's name are you running?" Seamus asked her, not letting go of her arms.

"Madame Pomfrey wasn't going to let me out until after breakfast, and I was perfectly fine." He laughed and Hermione felt very pleased. "Why are _you_ up so early?"

"Oh…Er, I couldn't sleep…So I decided I may as well come to see you." He said sheepishly and let go of her, much to her disappointment.

"Well thanks; I appreciate you coming down to see me. And for, you know. Taking me to the Hospital Wing and everything." Hermione said as they started walking in the opposite direction; to Gryffindor tower.

"So…" Hermione giggled suddenly, and not very Hermione-like, "Does Dean really sleep nude?"

Seamus let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah, but not all the time. We know not to touch him because his bed hangings are pulled around."

"Pig Snout." She said as they reached the Portrait of the Fat Lady, who watched them with a sly smile. They stepped inside and Seamus gestured towards a couch. She took a seat and he sat beside her, a bit closer than she would have sat beside him.

"Its been fun talking with you." She said awkwardly as silence lapsed around them. "We should…er…talk more."

"Maybe you could come to Hogsmeade with me this weekend." Seamus said and glanced at Hermione. "We can talk there."

"Sure." She said cheerily, but added, "I'll tell Harry and Ron. Maybe we should meet at The Three Broomsticks."

"I actually meant just us." He said unhappily. "I mean, if you want them to come…"

"Oh! I'd love to go with you…On a date! I'll meet you in the common room and we can go down together. I have to pick up a new book and another inkpot - mine broke yesterday. I'll need some quills too and-" Hermione's babbling was cut off as Seamus kissed her gently on the lips, his right hand coming to cup her cheek. When he pulled back he was grinning.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" He asked with a glance at the dormitories, where no doubt other students would soon be emerging from. Hermione nodded mutely and he took her hand. They walked out to the lake, their feet crushing the glistening grass beneath them.

"You know, maybe over the summer you should visit me. You could see what its like in a witch and wizard based community." Seamus said nonchalantly while Hermione's heart skipped a beat.

"That would be so much fun! You could come visit me, too, and see what its like for muggles." She replied excitedly, beaming. Her summer's prospects had just brightened considerably.

Seamus smiled warmly at her and stroked her palm with his thumb. It left sparks sizzling on her skin and she blushed. It seemed that yesterday was a million years ago, and the only thing that mattered was her and Seamus, together.

_How cliché. _She couldn't help but think to herself as they walked back to the school for breakfast. Just before they walked inside, Seamus stopped. "Before…You know. We become official, or whatever…I mean…We're a couple, right?"

"Yes. If you want to be." She added hurriedly and he just grinned, tugging her through the door.

Nothing big actually happened. A few people tried to get a better look, and she was sure a lot of people were talking about them, but nothing overly dramatic occurred. The Gryffindor house, of course, took an interest in that new development and she was a bit uncomfortable with how people were looking at them. She ate with unease as Ginny beamed at her, while Ron looked livid and exchanged dark looks with Harry.

"Let's go, we have potions and we don't want to be late." Seamus whispered in her ear.

She got up to leave but Harry grabbed her arm and said, "Walk with me?" Even though it was more a command then a question. Seamus nodded reluctantly and caught up to Dean, whose arm was around Ginny.

"Hermione _what_ were you thinking?" Ron burst out, "Need I remind you that Seamus was one of the people that didn't believe Harry last year? He thought Harry was mad!"

"Ron, tons of people didn't believe Harry and _you_ forgave them didn't you? I was under the impression you rather liked Seamus." Hermione retorted, her temper heating up.

"Ron, just be quiet for a second." Harry said, "We just wanted to tell you that we don't think Seamus is the person for y-"

"Don't start with me you two! Honestly, we've been together for about an hour and half! You should be _happy_ for me. When I met Victor all you did was complain, and I bet if you had met Matt you would have complained to! Why does it always have to be about you? Am I not allowed to be happy anymore?" She asked angrily and stormed away, adjusting her bag on her shoulder and glowering ferociously.

When she got to Potions she sat down heavily on the empty chair beside Seamus and shrugged off his questions. Harry and Ron were ridiculous! She was still fuming when Professor Snape strode into the room with a flourish.

"Good morning class." He said in a voice that suggested he did not find it a good morning at all.

"Instead of continuing our hopeless studies from yesterday," he sneered at Harry and Ron, "I will be giving you an assignment. This is an incredibly large assignment, and will require you to move from your current lodgings. You will each be given a partner and live with them until the assignment is complete. There will be a few dormitories with 4 rooms, one with 5, and several others with two. You do not get to choose your partner; I have already decided the pairs, so don't bother asking.

"In each dormitory, there will be several cupboards with an appropriate amount of ingredients that will be used in the course of the assignment. You will not be given the name of the potion, or what it will do. Upon the completion of each potion, you will discover who will drink it and be the tester. The affects will last for five days, from Monday to Friday. You must stay with your partner and note the changes in their behavior. You must each submit three rolls of parchment for each potion, including your observations and what you think it is. This will require _research_. Some of you may be shocked to know that we do have a library here at Hogwarts. Use it.

"Now, not all of you are familiar with the normal behavior of your partner. For you to gain that knowledge you will start the assignment one week after you move in together. This assignment is without a doubt the most important assignment you will do this year. Do _not_ ruin it." He looked at Neville. "I also advise you to use the most care you have ever used in potion making, for you may be the one testing the potion and you don't want any _accidents_.

"You are required to read these so you may consume as much information as your pathetic minds can on the task ahead of you. You are also required to fill out several questions at the end of the book." Professor Snape waved his wand and identical books appeared impressively on the desks in front of each student in the room.

"All the sixth years must meet in the Great Hall tonight at 8:00 to be paired up. If you are not there, you fail. Everything else will be explained there and any questions you have will be answered by someone who can put up with your incompetent queries. If you do not read the book, we will know." After pausing significantly in front of them and taking in their dumbfounded expressions, he turned on his heel to leave. Just before he reached the door, he whirled around in a swirl of black robes.

"You have the rest of the day off classes." He glared maliciously as several people cheered, effectively silencing them. "You have the rest of the day off to _study_ the book and fill out the end. If I had a say in the matter I would make you do it in your spare time, but the Headmaster feels differently. You may want to pack anything you want to bring to your new dormitory into your trunk; they will be transported to your new rooms when you are in the Great Hall." He left the room and chatter erupted immediately.

"It would be great if we were partners." Seamus whispered in her ear, his warm breath caressing her cheek. Hermione nodded but had the sinking feeling they weren't. She had a pretty good idea of who she would be with.

Suddenly Professor Snape's voice echoed in the room. 'The rest of the school is not to hear of this, so you are to make a reason why you are moving. As a class.' Hermione could practically hear the sneer in his voice.

"Why don't we just say we're with someone we want to snog? Maybe I'll be with Draco." Pansy purred.

'What if you're with Potter?' Blaise asked curiously, watching her expression go from coy to horrified.

"Parvati would be with Harry, she's already snogged him!" Chirped Lavender.

'You have?' Pansy asked incredulously, even she couldn't deny Harry had good looks.

"Two nights ago." Dean supplied and grinned at a blushing Harry.

"How was it! I was dyeing to ask you but the situation with Hermione seemed more important!" Lavender squealed, and several Slytherins looked at Hermione.

"Oooh it was great! He is a _fabulous_ kisser! I can't believe Cho let him go!" Parvati replied excitedly.

"She didn't let him go, they fell apart." Ron interrupted to defend his friend's honour.

"_Anyways_," Parvati glared at Ron, "He _did_ kiss me back! It was soft, yet firm, but still gentle. Mmm, absolutely _delicious_." Her eyes glazed over and she grew a dreamy look much like Luna Lovegood's.

"You kissed _back_!" Shrieked Lavender, her face was lit up like a lighthouse as she watched Harry.

Harry spluttered something no one really understood and Draco said, "No one wants to hear about Potter's recent snogs, so let's discuss the stupid problem so I can go into Gryffindork free air."

"Why don't we say Professor Dumbledore wanted to promote Inter-House Unity and is using us an experiment. The younger students are too immature to be used and the 7th years are focusing on NEWTs, which explains why we are doing it and why we are spending time with people from other houses. If we are with someone from our own house we'll say it was a mistake that couldn't be fixed." Everyone gaped as Hermione as she spoke with her usual above 16 year old intellect.

"Why should we do what the mudblood says?" Draco growled aggressively, trying to pretend it wasn't a good idea.

"Got a better idea Malfoy?" Seamus snapped defensively, his hand resting protectively on her back.

"_Look_ Granger's got a boyfriend, that's a shocker. Or are you using her to get your homework done?" Pansy sneered. Hermione felt like she'd been slapped, could that be true? She looked at Seamus's shocked face. Everyone waited with bated breath for an answer.

"Parkinson, I am not using Hermione. I'm sure that you're used to being used by Malfoy by now, but that's not how everyone's relationship works. So sod off and keep your ugly head out of my business." He turned to look at Hermione and kissed her quickly. Lavender and Parvati let out a chorus of awwws. When Seamus withdrew Pansy looked like she's swallowed a sour grape, while Harry and Ron looked like they'd been slugged on the head. Hermione squeezed Seamus's hand under the table and he gave her a heart stopping smile.

"Moving on." Blaise said in a bored voice.

"Why don't we say we're doing an assignment?" Parvati asked.

"Because that's what they aren't supposed to know about, can't Gryffindors think? Or did Potter suck out your brain cells through your mouth?" Draco said scathingly to Parvati, who blushed.

"Sod off Malfoy, at least she thought of something, unlike some ferrets I know." Harry retorted and Parvati looked thrilled that Harry had defended her.

Throughout the next 15 minutes they debated ideas, but eventually all agreed  
Hermione's was the best.

"What about the other 6th years? How will they know what to say?" Ron asked and looked around.

"I'll leave a note to Professor Snape." Hermione scribbled a note and laid it on Professor Snape's desk. The class slowly filed from the classroom, but Harry and Ron asked her to stay behind.

"Look, er, Hermione we just… well we wanted to say sorry, we realize now that Seamus …" Harry said looking uncomfortable.

"That you two really, erm, seem care about each other." Ron cleared his throat. "And we feel bad about the way we acted, we _are_ happy for you." The way Ron said it, as though forced, made Hermione wonder if he was or not.

"Thanks guys." Hermione pulled the two into a tight embrace.

"Should we get back to Gryffindor Tower now? I guess we have to pack our stuff and read this." Harry held up his book, the title said 'The Assignment.'

"May as well." Ron said and the three left the classroom. They walked back, talking happily and she felt content. Being friends with Harry Potter meant they usually had few moments where they could just be friends, together, and so she savored the times they did.

Inside the Common Room they sat by their usual homework table and she opened her book, immediately immersing herself in its pages.

_During this assignment you will be sharing a dormitory with your partner and another couple. Throughout the assignment you two must stay together, even when the potion is not in effect, with exceptions made by your teachers. You will attend the same classes, but your schedules will be altered to match your partners. _

_You will be given half the instructions to the potion. The partner with the first half will go into the room and follow their instructions, then they will leave the room and the second person will go in and complete the potion. When it is ready, both partners will be in the room and a name will fly out of the cauldron, this is the name of the person who __**will **__drink the potion. After they drink it, you are to take notes on their behavior to be handed in at the end of the assignment. The best way to do that would be to write notes at the end of each day and combine them at the end of the week. You will be graded on how accurate your description is, and if they act as they should under the potion._

_The potion will last for 5 days. There are breaks of one week between each potion construction, and the day you make the potion you have you no classes. You will be asked to put all your memories of information on the assignment into a penseive given to you so when you are under the effects of a potion you don't say anything about it. You can also put memories that will distract you from the assignment in it so you can focus._

It went on to describe various couples that made the potion and how successful they were. Hermione noted with distaste that almost every Gryffindor was paired with a Slytherin. When she reached the questionnaire, she discovered that all the questions were about her 'partner'. She looked and saw that Lavender and Parvati were done reading so she wandered over to them.

"Do you two know what we do about the questionnaire?" She asked nervously as they turned shining eyes on her.

"Guess what? Lavender and I have decided it is our duty to the public to write a _gossip_ page. The school deserves to know what's been going on, and we decided to tell them. We'll write it down, duplicate it, and send a copy to everyone! And _you_ are in the first issue! We figured the first one had to be great so people will read it, you know?" Parvati said dreamily, blatantly ignoring her purpose for talking to them.

"Do you have permission from a teacher?" Hermione asked sharply.

Lavender made a face, "Why can't you just be excited? The whole school will read about that night."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Hermione muttered, reaching up to rub her temples in exasperation and weariness.

"What was that?" Lavender asked, leaning forward politely.

"Oh, I was wondering if you're putting your, er, show into it." Hermione covered up, knowing that it would be futile to try and stop them.

"Should we? It wasn't very important but Parvati did get to snog Harry… it's in!" Lavender cried excitedly while Parvati blushes in an attempt at modesty.

Hermione rolled her eyes as the two waltzed off, arm in arm. Ginny would be devastated when she heard about Harry kissing Parvati. As much as she wouldn't admit it, Ginny fancied Harry a lot. She didn't think it likely that her relationship with Dean would last much longer.

_I should pack my trunk and then head to lunch. _Hermione thought and proceeded up to her room. She opened her trunk and cast a spell that made it have a lot more space then it really did, Mr. Weasley had used that spell on his Ford Angela and it was quite effective. Hermione cast a quick and simple charm that sent all her shoes – which, honestly, wasn't a very high number - marching into the trunk. Then she folded her clothes and neatly set them inside. She opened her dresser and put all its contents inside her trunk, books, cosmetics, accessories, a stack of magazines, more clothes, parchment, quills and the odd perfume bottle. She searched the room for anything she had missed, then searched the Common Room. Finding nothing she closed her trunk with a satisfied snap.

Her stomach grumbled hungrily and she realized lunch had come and gone in her fixation with packing. As much as she loathed the idea of making the House Elves do work, she couldn't wait until dinner to eat so she headed down to the kitchens.

-

Hermione tickled the pear in the bowl of fruit and entered the door, guilt clawing at her conscience as she saw the House Elves bustling around, followed by a stab of pity. Her feelings were distracted, however, by the voice of Draco Malfoy.

"I missed lunch, I was packing my trunk." He said in a voice not full of cruel hatred, but almost…pleasant. A squeaky voice answered, but as she saw Dobby round the corner, he cut off.

"Miss! Dobby is very happy to see Harry Potter's friend again!" A House elf came into view and hugged her around the middle.

"Hello Dobby, is everything good? You still get paid right?" Hermione asked and smiled fondly at the Elf.

"Master Dumbledore is very good to Dobby, Miss. He treats us like _equals_." His eyes widened impressively as he said this.

"'That's great Dobby!" Hermione exclaimed, pleased, and her stomach rumbled.

"Is Miss wanting food?" Dobby asked, his bulbous eyes staring at her.

Hermione smiled, "That would be nice, Dobby, thank you." Dobby led her to a small sitting room with two chairs and pointed to the unoccupied chair. The minute Draco saw Hermione his face hardened but he said nothing. Dobby kept up a constant stream of chatter as Elves brought them platters of sandwiches and pumpkin juice. Hermione ate quietly, trying to pretend Draco wasn't there.

"Miss, Dobby is wondering how you is doing? Dobby heard Miss screaming and we wonder if Miss was ok?" Dobby asked. Draco looked at Hermione in surprise, _screams?_

She blushed under their scrutiny. "I'm fine Dobby I had a rather vivid nightmare, that's all. How is Winky?"

"Winky is better now Miss, Dobby has been taking good care of her." Dobby answered proudly.

She talked amiably with him for a couple minutes and then excused herself. She had decided to consult Professor Snape about the questionnaire, because she refused to not complete homework that had been assignment. It made her want to scream that she didn't know what to do, so she headed to the staff room. Unfortunately, the teachers informed her, she'd missed him by five minutes and she spent the next hour searching the school desperately in an attempt to find him.

"Professor!" Hermione called out, panting slightly, as he left the Hospital Wing. He turned and sneered when he saw her, crossing his arms.

"Professor I was wondering, about the questionnaire-"

"You do not need to fill it out. Is that all?" He asked boredly, watching her flushed face falter with disappointment.

"Yes Professor." Hermione said quietly as he turned and strode off to the dungeons. Dejectedly she headed off in the direction of the Great Hall, feeling extremely stupid.

"Hey Hermione." Ginny said and fell into stride with her. "I can't believe all the sixth years got the day off today! I wish we got to do the Inter House Unity, it would be fun as long as you're not stuck with a Slytherin." Ginny said somewhat wistfully.

"Honestly Ginny, I don't think it's going to be that great." Hermione said carefully.

Ginny looked at her curiously for a minute before saying, "You know, there is something going on that you aren't telling the rest of the school. None of the sixth years will say anything other then what I already know, which is you are moving out of Gryffindor Tower for Inter House Unity."

Hermione raised her eyebrows at Ginny, "Wow Ginny, I'm impressed that you think that but-"

"Hermione I know you aren't allowed to say anything, I'm not asking you to. Just keep in mind that if I can draw this conclusion in one day, the school will find out soon." Ginny smiled and went to join her friends at the Gryffindor table.

Hermione watched, amazed. Ginny was quite different now. She was a lot more bold, and could fit in anywhere without trying very hard. She was also very pretty, but if you looked past that you saw her mischievous side, which was much like Fred and George.

"Where were you?" Ron asked as she sat down across from him.

"I was packing." Hermione said and put chicken casserole on her plate, all the while looking around for Seamus.

"For nine hours?" Harry asked cynically.

"Not exactly." She sighed and put down her fork, and then proceeded to explain going down to the kitchen, her interaction with Dobby, and then searching for Snape.

"That's all he said? 'You don't have to fill it out.' What a bloody git." Ron muttered darkly and voiced a few choice words that made her cringe.

"Some of the students are going to find out that we're lying to cover something up. Ginny already knows something is up, but she doesn't know what. Look at all the sixth years." Hermione whispered and all three looked at the other sixth years. They all sat in groups with their heads together whispering suspiciously.

"Bloody hell, could they be more obvious." Ron muttered, shaking his head at their foolishness and biting into a chicken leg.

"Ron." Harry said, and the three realized they had their heads together and were whispering as well.

"Oh." He said sheepishly, drawing back. "Have you packed everything?"

"No, I'll throw everything into my trunk after dinner." Harry said and ignored the exasperated look Hermione gave him.

"Yeah," Ron said, smiling reminiscently, as though thinking about the mess of their dormitory made him very happy. "My stuff is everywhere."

Hermione sighed, "At least you've already read the book."

Ron cleared his throat, "Almost."

"Ron! It's 6:30! You have to be done by 8:00, what could you have been doing?" Hermione cried, placing her fork once more on her plate.

"I was doing homework." Ron thought up wildly.

"Ronald Weasley you were not._ What_ were you doing?" Hermione demanded, reminding the young red-head once more of his mother.

"We decided to go flying." Ron said innocently.

After Hermione lectured Ron on the importance on their assignment, which took awhile, she dragged him out of the hall with Harry following. When they entered the Portrait Hole she warned Ron that he had better read the rest of the book, and then settled down by the fire to write a letter. Harry sat and watched her write for awhile until she grew uncomfortable with his staring.

"Why don't you write a letter?" She suggested, stretching her cramped hand.

"To who, my dead Godfather?" He looked at the fire Sirius had so often visited him through. She couldn't think of a reply so she stared at him for a minute. With the fire playing across his face he had a haunted look about him.

"Done." Ron slammed his book shut. "C'mon Harry, let's go pack." Harry stood up and followed Ron up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. Hermione watched them go, and then continued her letter until they came back down.

"Hermione? We have to go now, it's 7:45." He said quietly to avoid attention from the younger students.

"Oh, right." She folded her parchment and put in inside a pocket in her robes. She stretched, grimacing as her back cracked several times and then wrinkled her nose. Ginny was watching her and she smiled, waving a bit, before leaving.

The other sixth year Gryffindors were already out in the hall and she was surprised to note that they'd been waiting for her. Usually she was the punctual one. Seamus smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist, creating a warm glow inside her.

By silent agreement they set off down the hall.

**A/N**

**You may have noticed I switched to first names in non dialogue with Hermione and Draco, because it wasn't first person so I didn't think it was necessary. This chapter may have seemed very abrupt and rushed, but that's because I'm trying to set up the base so when the plot thickens I have something to work with.**

**April 12, 2009: Just edited. If anyone is reading this, I'm sorry. It gets a lot better later. **


	3. The Partners

**Author's Note: Nothing really interesting happens in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer- If I owned Harry Potter, would I be sitting here saying I didn't? I think not.**

_The Partners_

"This is probably the last time we'll be together alone for awhile, isn't it?" Neville asked quietly, looking thoughtful. "I mean, without our partners with us."

"We have a week between each potion." Dean pointed out, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"But we still have to stay with our partners and any one of us might be with a Slytherin. If _I_ am with one, it's not coming to Gryffindor Tower with _me_." Lavender sniffed disdainfully, and Hermione was sure that, just because of what she'd just said, they'd all have second thoughts about brining their partners to the Tower.

They reached the Great Hall and saw that there was a fifth table in front of the other four. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were already there standing in tight groups, talking, and they watched the Gryffindors enter, no doubt wondering if one of them was going to be their partner. She couldn't stop herself from doing the same to them, however she still felt like she knew who she would be with.

"Please, take a seat while we wait for the Slytherins." Dumbledore called as he walked into the Great Hall, followed by Professor Snape, Sprout, McGonagall and Flitwick. Slowly the three houses took seats at the long table, because it seemed to be there specifically for that purpose, and whispered to their friends. Talking at a normal volume would seem too loud for their situation.

Time ticked by and she waited impatiently, exchanging annoyed words with her classmates at the Slytherin's lack of punctuality. Finally, a good _twenty_ minutes later the Slytherins sauntered in with, of course, Draco at the lead. They sneered at the students sitting down and took the chairs at the far end of the table, isolating them from their peers.

"Now that we're all here why don't we begin?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly, as though they had not sat for twenty minutes waiting for the Slytherins to arrive.

"As you all know, you have been given a potions assignment and are required to share a dormitory with at least one other student. We trust you to act responsibly and cooperate with your classmate, no matter how you get along now. You are gathered here to be given the name of your partner, and you may ask questions," He smiled as several hands shot up, Hermione's included, "after I am finished.

"There will be several dormitories with 4 rooms, one with five, and a few with 2. Each dormitory has a sitting room, a room for making the potions, a bathroom, and a room for each person living there. You will be given directions to these dormitories when you get your partner, and you will proceed there together. There will be no classes on the Monday you brew the potion, as I'm sure you learned earlier, but they will begin as scheduled on Tuesday.

"After you brew and test each potion, you have one week with your partners where neither of you will be under the influence of a potion. You must stay together during that time period, and must also spend every other weekend together. Hogsmeade trips will not be cancelled but if you are not on your free weekend the trips must be spent together. I trust none of the points I just stated will be an issue. Any Questions?"

"What about Quidditch?" Harry and Draco cried out simultaneously, wearing identical masks of anxiety.

"Quidditch will continue as before. Your partner will have to attend your practices and matches, however." Dumbledore answered, somewhat amused. The two boys seemed happy and almost exchanged looks of relief, until they realized who it was they were looking at.

"How long is this assignment going to be?" Padma Patil asked, curling her beautiful hair around her index finger.

"As long as it takes." Was the ominous reply. Several people exchanged confused looks that seemed to question their Headmaster's sanity.

"Professor, I know at least one person who has realized there is more to what we are doing than what we've said. The rest of the school isn't supposed to know about this, but sooner or later they'll realize something is going on, especially when we start taking potions. What can we do?" Hermione inquired, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she thought.

"The teachers are aware. If any students have question about it, you have permission to send them to their Head of House." Dumbledore surveyed them over his half moon spectacles, forming a steeple with his fingers. "Inform them that any questions they have will be answered. Now, I am told that you came up with the reason for your new lodgings?"

"Yes Professor." Hermione blushed as the students and teachers all focused more intently on her.

"10 points to Gryffindor for creative thinking. Any more questions?" Dumbledore asked as Ron gave her a grin and a supportive clap on the back. Several people asked for clarifications and were soon placated, though she hardly listened.

Dumbledore nodded to the students and stepped back, moving to sit on the chair Professor Snape had just vacated. The Potions Professor stepped forward and his condescending glare swept over them once before he spoke.

"Tell me, Draco. Did you complete the questionnaire in the back of the book?" He asked, lip curling as he glanced at Hermione.

"No." Draco replied lazily, reclining back on his seat.

"Why not?" The greasy haired man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We were told by you that we were getting our partners tonight, and that's what the questions were on. I assumed that you only assigned it to make sure we read the book." Draco replied nonchalantly, carelessly brushing a speck of what was probably imaginary dust of his shoulder.

"Excellent assumption; 10 points to Slytherin. It is reassuring to know that some students have common sense." He sneered in Hermione's direction, who flushed with anger and humiliation.

"The books you have right now are very basic editions that we gave to you because the new ones had not arrived yet. However, you will be pleased to know that they arrived in the afternoon. If you place the copies you have now on the table, we will collect them later." He scowled in a way that suggested he hoped they weren't pleased.

Professor McGonagall stood up, unrolling a scroll of parchment. "The Heads of House decided who would be the best to put you with based on level of skill and academic progress. When we call your name, please step forward to the front." After making eye contact with almost all of them she shifted her gaze to the parchment.

"Hannah Abbot." Hannah stood up a bit nervously and strode to the front of room, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Harry Potter." Harry smiled at Hannah, who flushed a bit and smiled back. They both seemed relieved, however it turned out to be short-lived.

"Oh, sorry. That's Sally-Anne Perks." Harry sat down and Sally-Anne walked to the front of the room, beaming happily at Hannah.

Professor Flitwick came forward with his wand drawn and said, "Please say your partner's name."

"Sally-Anne." A book appeared before Hannah as they watched, transfixed. It flashed blue once and then turned a dull brown. She reached out and took it as Sally-Anne did the same. After a nod from the short teacher before them they returned to the table.

"Terry Boot…Parvati Patil." Professor McGonagall continued to read names until nearly everyone had a partner, their reactions varying from good to bad responses. (Padma Patil had let out a soft groan and went to join Vincent Crabbe at the front, Justin Flinch-Fletchey had seemed a bit too happy to be paired with Mandy Brocklehurst, Susan Bones had appeared terrified as she looked at Millicent Bullstrode, Lisa Turpin had eyed Theodore Nott speculatively, Ron has muttered something about not being with Slytherins before Morag McDougal was called out, Seamus and watched her hopefully until he'd been partnered with Gregory Goyle, Neville Longbottom had grinned at Ernie McMillan and Melissa Moon had looked at Dean with shy interest.)

"Lavender Brown…Shelby Fawcett." Hermione looked around and saw that she, Harry, Draco, Pansy and Blaise were left.

"Hermione Granger…" _Please be Harry, please be Harry._ Somehow Hermione knew that it wasn't Harry. He was looking at her with a somewhat resigned expression of disappointment, which she took to understand meant that he also knew they weren't together.

"Draco Malfoy." There was a startled silence, as everyone stared at the two, who had turned to glare ferociously at each other. Harry, Ron and Seamus had turned in unison and scowled threateningly at the blonde.

"Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy." Professor McGonagall said sharply, because neither had moved. She stood shakily, but was determined to walk with her head held high. She'd made the choice to help the Order, and this was just what she had to do. She decided to try and be somewhat nice to him, as long as he didn't provoke her.

And then he tripped her.

"Oh, did I do that?" Draco drawled over the laughter of the Slytherins. She clenched her fists and stomped to the awaiting Professor, trying to reign in her anger.

"Draco." Hermione said through clenched teeth and snatched the book from the air before it had changed color. Without waiting for her partner she marched to her seat beside Harry and Seamus, fuming.

"Harry Potter, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini." Harry's jaw dropped in horror. He had been so preoccupied with shooting death looks at Draco he hadn't realized who he was left. Nevertheless he stood up, scowling in their direction, and got his book.

"Now then, you are required to sit at this table every day of the week that the potion is in effect, and if you can compromise, you are free to sit with one of your Houses during the following weeks. You will find a small penseive in your room and we request that you put any information on the assignment in there so you don't blurt anything out. You can also place any memories you wish in. I shouldn't have to remind you not to look in your partner's penseive, under any circumstances. Such a severe and disrespectful invasion of privacy will be punished severely." Hermione noticed Snape giving Harry a funny look and absently wondered why.

"Trust should be developed with your partner, because you have no control over what aspect the potion changes." Professor McGonagall added extra emphasis on "trust" and looked at Hermione, solidifying what she already knew. This was their way of giving her the opportunity to get close to Draco.

"Please fill out the Questionnaires in the back of your books now and then go to your dormitory with your partner. You will find instructions to your dormitory in the book, and your new schedules." As the students shuffled around papers and began to talk to their friends, the teachers left. Hermione didn't think that was a very good idea, considering who was in the room, but instead of mentioning that turned to Harry.

"I'm on the third floor where are you?" She asked, leaning over to look into his book.

"Third floor." Harry replied, smiling slightly and turning to their red-haired friend.

"Third floor." Ron said and grinned happily. _Excellent. We should be somewhere near each other, then._

Hermione flipped to the back and read the questions with distaste, grimacing as she answered.

1. How would you prefer Draco to act if you had a choice?

_Like a good person._

2. What do you think is his best physical feature?

Hermione thought for a minute before writing: _his eyes._

3. What do you think is his biggest flaw?

_His arrogance._

4. Who would he be the least likely to fall in love?

Hermione read the question over 3 times. What kind of question was this? That wasn't even related to the assignment at all.

_Me, Hermione Granger._

5. Who do you think Draco loves the most in the world?

_Himself, probably. _She thought darkly, but instead wrote down the person she thought was mostly likely.

_Pansy Parkinson_

6. If you could change one thing about Draco what would it be?

_His mentality._

_7. _What is your favourite thing about Draco?

_His intelligence_. Hermione wrote grudgingly, because at least that was worth _something_.

8. What do you think Draco prides himself most in?

_Harassing people, probably._

9. If Draco could change one thing about you, what do you think it would be?

_My hair?_

10. What do others see Draco as?

_A heartthrob._

11. What do you see Draco as?

_A rude, prejudiced jerk._

12. What do your teachers see Draco as?

_A student, hopefully._

13. What mental aspect would you change about Draco if you could?

_His thoughts on muggleborns._

14 What is your level of friendship with Draco?

_We're enemies._

Hermione closed her book with a sigh. Answering questions about Draco was definitely not her favourite pastime. With a surge of bitterness she looked at the blond, who was bent over his book and smirking. That was slightly concerning. She looked over at Harry's book and saw that he was done his as well. Ron had already started talking to Morag, who seemed very energetic.

"Do you want to walk with me to the third floor?" Hermione asked, tucking the book into her bag.

"Er, we're supposed to walk with our partners…" He looked uncomfortably at Pansy and Blaise, who were both scowling at their current situation.

"Oh, right. Well I suppose I have to go with Malfoy then." Hermione sighed, massaging her temples. "I really need some sleep, I'll see you at breakfast. Goodnight Harry, Ron. Goodnight Seamus." Hermione stifled a yawn and reluctantly walked to the place where Draco was sitting.

"Have you finished?" She asked somewhat hesitatingly. He didn't answer. "Malfoy are you done!" She raised her voice angrily, drawing looks from everyone in the room. She knew she was being childish, but she was tired, annoyed, and she didn't want to deal with Draco's attitude.

"You could have just asked Granger." Draco drawled, turning his eyes upward to look at her.

"You blatantly ignored me, Malfoy. Are you done yet? We have to find our room together." Hermione huffed, trying to take deep breaths.

Draco shrugged, "I haven't started yet. I had some pressing concerns that needed to be dealt with."

Hermione threw him a dirty look so he decided, for his own safety, to continue the questionnaire. He'd gotten to question three before he'd become sidetracked.

1. How would you prefer Hermione to act if you had a choice?

_Like a slut._

2. What do you think is Hermione's best feature?

Draco had been about to write 'she doesn't have one', and had then paused.

_Her eyes._

3. What do you think is her biggest flaw?

_Her know-it-all personality._

4. Who would be the least likely person Hermione would fall in love with?

_What kind of question is that? _He rolled his eyes, glaring at the bushy haired Gryffindor before him as she muttered something like, 'hurry up!'

_Me, Draco Malfoy._

5. If you could change one thing about Hermione what would it be?

_Her disgustingly bushy hair._

6. Who do you think Hermione loves the most in the world?

_Seamus Finnegan?_

7. What is your favourite thing about Hermione?

_What the bloody hell?_

_Her eyes._

8. What do you think Hermione prides herself in?

_Her intelligence._

9. If Hermione could change one thing about you, what do you think it would be?

_My personality._

10. What do others see Hermione as?

_A teacher's pet._

11. What do you see Hermione as?

_A know it all goody two shoes._

12. What do your teachers see Hermione as?

_Their pet._

13. What mental aspect would you change about Hermione if you could?

_Her opinion on Potter and Weasley._

14. What is your level of friendship with Hermione?

_We're enemies._

Draco closed his book and stood up. Without a backwards glance he picked it up and strode out the room; Hermione could catch up to him. She didn't seem to have noticed he'd left for a second and then hurried after him.

"You could have waited!" She said angrily as she caught up to him, adjusting her bag. It was awfully heavy.

"I don't live to serve mudbloods." He retorted, smirking at her infuriated expression.

"We're on the third floor, behind the tapestry of a snake eating a bird-delightful. Push away the tapestry, the password is "pine fresh."' Hermione read from the book, deciding it would be advisable to ignore that. They climbed a marble staircase and continued in silence.

-

When they finally reached the tapestry - they got lost once because Draco took a wrong turn - Pansy, Blaise and Harry were standing in front of it arguing. As the two drew nearer they realized the three were arguing about whether to first push the tapestry away and then say the password, or say the password and _then _push the tapestry away. _How can they be so thick?_

"Just push away the tapestry and say pine fresh!" Harry said impatiently, tugging his hair and rubbing his left eye.

Pansy snorted, "Why should we listen to you? Just because you're the "Boy-Who-Lived" doesn't mean you're right."

Harry flung the tapestry aside and practically snarled, "Pine fresh."

"Harry this must mean we're in the group of five!" Hermione said excitedly, hurrying over.

Before Harry could answer, Draco pushed him aside and went through the door leading into their new home. Overall, it was pretty picturesque, but a bit bland. It had cream colored walls with a light caramel carpet. There was a crackling fire and two squashy couches in front of it, both gold. Across one wall was a row of bookshelves, with muggle books, and wizard books. There was a painting with a man sitting on a red couch on one wall, and four desks in front of it.

"Oho!" The man cried as Draco entered, followed by Hermione, Harry, Blaise and Pansy. "Hello! My name is Chester! I'm basically the eyes for the teachers. So don't do anything bad, or I'll tell on you!" He laughed to himself. "I'd best tell the Headmaster the last group has arrived!" He jumped up and ran out of his frame.

"Just what we need, another tattletale, I wonder if he's a mudblood too." Draco grumbled, though loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Sod off Malfoy." Harry snarled, his wand and was pointed at Draco.

"Harry, he's said that so many times, I don't really care anymore." Hermione said sharply and lowered Harry's arm with her own. The last thing they needed to start everything off was a duel.

There were seven doors along one wall, one could be reached by climbing three steps, which was slightly strange. Draco opened the one to the left of the steps, and discovered a bathroom. The floors were made of white marble, there was a bathtub that was almost a complete replica of the Prefect's. Across one wall was a magnificent counter, complete with mirror, sink, and for some reason a bowl of mint humbugs, which Draco examined with interest for a moment.

The door on the other side of the stairs led into a room full of potion ingredients, and places to put their cauldrons for potion making. He closed the door but before he could mutter a spell, a feminine voice spoke first.

"_Adhera." _Hermione said, and a shiny gold nameplate appeared to label the room.

"'I could have done that." Growled Draco, glaring at her perfect execution of the spell.

"Well, I think gold is prettier then silver." She replied smugly, walking back away from the door. When they'd been doing the spell in class, silver was the only colour he could manage.

"Well, I think _silver _is a lovely color, why don't we have a tea party?" Draco said sarcastically, and started to climb the stairs. _This room should be mine. _However when he opened the door he discovered that it was very girly. _Scratch that thought._

He heard a shriek behind him and a blur of black and green pushed past him. Pansy took out her wand and began to wave it wildly in every direction, turning the entire room a horrid pink. Hermione looked over Draco's shoulder and made a face; it was quite disturbing and actually hurt her eyes. The fact that one person could stand such awful, clashing colors of pink was unbelievable. To top that off, everything was covered in lace, which made her want to shudder.

"Great, the only room left is between Malfoy and Zabini." Hermione muttered, sighing.

Pansy stopped immediately, "Move aside Granger, that room is mine!" She shoved Hermione backwards - who almost fell down the stairs - and dashed to the door, throwing it open and then slamming it shut.

"Wait!" Hermione called, her voice fading weakly "What spell did you use? I need to change it back…"

Pansy poked her head out of her room, "Wouldn't you like to know." Then she slammed it again. Hermione groaned and stepped forward to look at Pansy's creation. If Draco didn't make her insane, the room definitely would.

"_Reverso Incantarto." _Hermione cried, causing everything to change a shade lighter, and a bit of the lace was gone. She repeated this several times, but nothing happened. Eventually she collapsed onto her bed and grabbed one of her pink, fluffy, lacy pillows to hit her head repeatedly with.

It took her awhile, but a few minutes later she seemed to realize Draco was standing there, watching her. With as much dignity as she could she stood up. "Yes?"

The only thing Draco was really thinking about was the best way to drive her completely insane. He figured he might as well start of the assignment with a bang. In one stroke of genius, it came to him. He would definitely have a laugh about it later.

"Hermione," Draco said silkily, stepping forward. "Why are you speaking so harshly to me?"

To his irritation fear flashed across her face, instead of the customary anger. He took another step towards her and looked straight into her eyes while extending a hand. "Come with me." Every other girl in the entire school would have jumped at the chance to go _somewhere _with Draco Malfoy, or at least look excited and pleased. Hermione just looked horrified.

"Stay away from me Malfoy." Her voice held no conviction and she backed up against the wall, which made him get even more annoyed.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" He asked smoothly, trying not to gag as he said her name. He moved forward and she flattened herself against the wall, her heart beating frantically. It was so much like the dream she'd had.

Draco was infuriated by the fact that not only was she not getting mad at him, she actually looking afraid. He reached out and lifted her chin, tilting it, and then drew their faces closer together, as though he would kiss her.

Quick as a flash she reached up with her arm and gripped his forearm tightly enough to bruise. "Don't touch me."

He stared at her in shock. "What makes you think I want to?"

"The fact that you're holding my face contradicts that statement," She snapped and, with her other hand, reached up slap him. He grabbed her hand before it could connect and they remained frozen in that position for a bit, until she shoved him backwards. "Don't ever come near me again."

"Gladly." He said icily, aware of a small throbbing in his arm and his severely bruised ego. That had not worked at all.

"Get out. Now." She pointed at her door and he glared, before storming from the room.

Inside his own room he rolled up his sleeve and stared down at the bruise forming on his pale, sensitive skin. Oddly enough, if he angled his head the right way, it very vaguely resembled the Dark Mark.

**A/N Just to let you know, news will be updated on my profile, I'll be pretty busy, hockey just started, but I'll make time. I am also going to try to shorten the chapters a bit so I can update sooner, I think it would be better that way. I will probably aim for one chapter a month, hopefully more though. **

**April 16, 2009: I just edited this chapter. I think this is long overdue.**

**Please review!**


	4. The First Potion

**A****/N This is important, I decided to cut this chapter in half, because it was 41 pages and I would never get it done with school, and hockey, and everything else, so the second half will be the next chapter. Thought I'd let you know. Oh, and I didn't go into detail about Hermione's date with Seamus, because its not really important or relevant**

**Update – I hope the sexual references and everything don't offend anyone, and please note that these next two chapters are NOT the romance Hermione and Draco have, AT ALL. **

**Edited April 26****th****, 2009**

**Disclaimer-If I was J.K Rowling, wouldn't I be writing the books, not fanfiction?**

_The First Potion_

The next week passed normally. Hermione's date with Seamus went really well and she spent the week after it in a blissful happiness full of ignoring Draco and spending as much time as possible with her boyfriend. It was so easy to lose herself in being in a relationship – knowing that someone else fancied you and that, if you wanted, you could hug, kiss, hold hands - whatever you wanted whenever you wanted. It was one of the best feelings in the world.

Soon, however, she felt herself dreading the Monday they would begin the assignment. The sixth years grew tense as that day approached; none of them had any idea what to expect and how they would act. It was an object of direct concern for all of them and Hermione had drifted off into contemplative silence more than once in the presence of her peers, only to be jerked back to reality by their constant repetition of her name.

At breakfast on Sunday an eagle owl dropped a thick letter onto Hermione's plate. She recognized the handwriting as identical to that Professor McGonagall wrote on her homework, assignments, and essays so she decided not to open it until she got back to her room, because she knew what it was about and didn't want anyone to notice for fear of them trying to read it.

When she opened it later, she found a very long letter detailing what she should do during the assignment to help Draco. Only Professor Snape – and most likely Dumbledore as well - knew the potions they would be subjected to, so she was given suggestions on how to become his friend, or at least get him to trust her. Every situation, she was informed, should be used to her advantage.

Personally Hermione thought that her chances of succeeding were close to nothing. In academic work she put in a lot of effort and did well, but when dealing with other people you have to rely on _their_ reactions and them. She wasn't good at relying on other people and disliked doing it. No matter how hard she tried, Draco would have to respond in good ways so they could progress as one unit.

Unfortunately she would also be testing several potions, but Professor McGonagall thought it would strengthen the trust in the relationship which, to be honest, they didn't have and most likely never would. With those thoughts in her head, she went to sleep Sunday night.

-

Hermione woke up and got ready for the day quickly, as usual. However, as she performed simple tasks like brushing her teeth and showering, her mind was buzzing with complex thoughts and her stomach was churning. She and Draco hadn't interacted at all in the preceding week, so it was, essentially, the beginning of two assignments for her. Her school assignment and the one for the Order.

The other four were sitting in the Common room; Harry staring at the fire and the others glaring at him or sitting and staring off into a corner. When he saw her he stood up quickly and joined her by the door, grateful for the presence of someone who didn't seem to hate him to the very core.

They sat at their designated House tables without speaking and Harry stared at the food on the table silently. Ron was already there, eating everything within reach of his hands and the two remained oblivious to the looks they were getting. They often weren't up so early in the morning to be on time for breakfast.

"Hi." Ginny said cheerfully as she sat down and began to butter her toast. "Hold on - Is that _Ron,_ and _Harry?_"She gaped at the two boys, toast momentarily forgotten, but when they didn't reply she closed her mouth.

"What's wrong with you two?" She reached over the table and grabbed Harry's hand, flipped it over, and felt for a pulse. "He _is_ alive."

Harry didn't seem to realize anyone had just touched him, and Hermione wondered exactly how worried he was, because he hadn't responded to Ginny's touch. With a start she realized that if Harry drank a truth potion, everyone could ask him _anything_ about his life, love or evil, and in a day his private information could be splashed across magazines. She stopped feeling so concerned with herself and began to fret over him.

"They're not feeling well." She said hoarsely, taking a gulp of tea and burning her tongue. Ginny accepted this answer after a pause, which suggested she suspected more was going on.

After they ate breakfast the sixth years all went to the dungeons to meet Professor Snape. Ron kept giving her secretive glances, and it annoyed her. She didn't see why he didn't just say what he wanted to say, if it warranted that many looks. He did it again and she was about to march over and ask if she had something on her face when they were told to stand with their partners.

After being given their half of the instructions, they marched solemnly back to their dormitories, and Hermione discovered that Ron, Lavender, and Seamus were also on her floor. She was particularly thrilled about Seamus's location and spent an extra minute smiling and grinning at him, until Draco's disgusted noises got the better of her patience.

Inside the Potions room they stood in silence for a moment, until she tried to be proactive. "Shall we get started, then?" Hermione asked and Draco nodded. He opened the potions room door and set up a cauldron, before turning and giving her a pointed look.

"What?" She asked, somewhat defensive.

"I have the first half of the potion, so you have to wait outside." He said boredly, and she left the room, rolling her eyes at his sullen look.

After about five minutes Harry, Pansy and Blaise entered the room. Their angry voices suggested that already they were fighting. After a moment of annoyed gestures, Pansy shoved her half of the instructions into Blaise's hand and stormed to her room. Harry and Blaise both muttered 'women' under their breath and then gave each other awkward looks.

She began to wait.

-

It was quite awhile before she began to work on her half of the Potion, and the whole time Draco sulked outside, barely speaking to Blaise and completely ignoring Pansy when she took it to her head to emerge from her room. When the last instruction had been completed she left the room, her hair bushy from the heat and humidity of bending over a cauldron and her face flushed.

"It's done?" Draco asked, sounding almost as though he wished she would say no.

"It just has to simmer, for another minute or so." She replied, watching the blood red potion bubble ominously. She looked over and saw that Harry's potion was light green, but he seemed to be happy whenever he looked at it. Were their potions supposed to be different colors?

Their potion flashed white, red, blue, pink, and then green. The pair took a few steps closer, and so it was no surprise when the piece of paper that flew out hit Draco in the eye. He looked at it and then the color that had seemed to be missing returned to his face in a rush, accompanied by a sigh of relief.

_Hermione._

It struck her then, harder then ever, that she hadn't put anything in the penseive. Her hand shook as she ladled some of the potion into a vial, and then filled up another bottle with it, for Professor Snape's examination.

Draco watched her intently as she tipped the glass tube and swallowed its contents, hesitating only briefly beforehand. A moment of tense silence followed, and then her eyes shone a brilliant blue, before returning to their normal color.

He knew something was wrong when she turned to look at him, eyed his entire body and then smirked.

-

Harry was waiting for Blaise to call him when the door opened. Draco stood there and told him to get Pansy, looking slightly hassled. Disgruntled by the fact that he was being told what to do, he turned and went to her door anyway. Because his back was turned, he didn't hear or see a figure dart out from under Draco's arm and dash up to Hermione's room.

After banging on Pansy's door for about a minute, he gave up and turned around. It took approximately one second for him to take in the sight before him and for his jaw to drop. Hermione came down her stairs with her skirt hiked up to above mid-thigh, had taken off her tights and strapped on some black heeled boots that cut off at her ankle, which he knew was most certainly not approved by the dress code. To his complete and utter horror her robes were open, exposing her blouse, which was unbuttoned quite low at the top and displayed her lacy black bra underneath. Her tie was extremely loose and had the sexy look Pansy had never been able to achieve with her own.

"Harry." She said silkily in a voice he hoped he never had to hear again, "You look sexy today." She walked up to Harry and looked directly into his eyes. Instead of the warm comfort they usually held, they were filled with a cold, piercing stare.

"I-er-Hermione are you alright?" Harry asked and shot Draco an odd look as he emerged, staring as his enemy was hit on by his best friend.

"Potions ready!" Bellowed Blaise, and Pansy reluctantly came out of her room. When she saw Hermione her eyebrows shot up and she stared in shock for a moment. Then she rolled her eyes, muttered something quite nasty under her breath and walked by, barking for Harry to hurry up and come along. He looked at her hesitantly and followed hurriedly when she began to caress his arm.

"What a shame, isn't it Draco? We're alone now." She practically stroked his name with her tongue and lips, if that was possible, and took a few steps closer to him.

"Not really, I prefer to stay out of Potter's ugliness." Draco said haughtily, his eyes slipping down to what her shirt now exposed, before he looked away from her altogether.

"You want to be alone with me?" Hermione leaned in very, very close and he couldn't help but feel that her voice should never sound like that. The usual know-it-all lilt and intelligence had disappeared with the gleam in her eyes.

"No, that's not it at all." He rolled his eyes, shifting uncomfortably. If this was how she'd felt the other day, when he'd cornered her, than he definitely understood her unwillingness to respond to him.

"I'll be back in a second. Unless you care to join me?" She winked at him and sashayed over to the bathroom, opening the door with finesse. He turned away quickly, disturbed by the image that created.

The door to the potions room opened and Draco looked up, glad that his friends would emerge. First came Potter, who was moving in a strange way, almost like he was having difficulty walking, and he smirked at Draco. For a moment, the blond was transfixed by some sort of recognition, and then he realized that that was the same expression he had practiced in the mirror the week preceding his first year at Hogwarts.

"Come on Potter,' Pansy said, looking thoroughly amused by his new walking habit. "Its already six o clock."

"Call me Harry." He said suavely, and gave her a cocky smile Draco recognized. Pansy watched him with slight interest, flushing a bit, and Blaise rolled his eyes, shaking his head at Draco. The threesome left together and Draco was left to wait for his partner.

As he waited he thought about the way she was acting, and the responses her behavior would undoubtedly receive from people in other houses. _Finnegan won't like this. _He thought with amusement, a small smile forming on his lips. _I bet the Gryffindors will all freak out._

Hermione appeared at that moment, and he was shocked to see that she'd straightened her hair and put on some glittery, bright eye shadow. And some eyeliner. He shook his head, quite disturbed. The new Granger, instead of making him amused and entertained, made him want her go back to normal.

"Let's go Granger." Draco said quickly, thoroughly annoyed with the change in the two Gryffindors. He turned to leave but she grabbed his hand and turned him around; she had quite a grip. That, or he was just quite weak.

"Call me Hermione." She whispered, and Draco was suddenly aware of the close proximity of their faces. She kissed him and pushed him against the wall, her hands moving to cup his neck and hold onto his arm. He shuddered, grabbed her arms and pushed her back, holding her hands up and away from him. She pouted at him, puckering her lips in a way that might have been attractive, if it hadn't been _her._

"Don't try that _ever _again, you stupid mudblood." Draco growled, letting her hands go and violently throwing the door open.

When they reached the Great Hall Hermione flung open the door dramatically and walked through, grinning. It seemed, at first, that no one noticed, most likely due to her altered appearance, until they realized that it was Hermione. The bookworm, know-it-all Gryffindor who hardly left the tower without several layers of clothing on. She attracted many an astonished and horrified look, which made her preen from the attention in an uncharacteristically confidant way.

When they sat down, rather grudgingly on Draco's part, at the Gryffindor table everyone was staring in complete shock. He was sure that if she'd randomly shown up one day like that, he would have been staring, too. Seamus was staring from the Slytherin table, and Ron was positively gaping from the Hufflepuff table.

He had to admit it caught him completely by surprise when Hermione suddenly stood up, sat back down on Harry's knee and started snogging him senseless. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when, instead of pushing her off, blushing and incoherently mumbling nonsense, Harry gave as good as he got. Their movements drew attention as they pushed plates off the table, and someone wolf-whistled.

"Slut!" Someone yelled across the room as buzzing broke out through the hall.

"Granger!" Draco hissed and pulled on her arm, looking around quickly.

"Yes?" She turned to look at him, not even dazed at all, with raised eyebrows.

"What are you _doing_?" Someone who was probably a Gryffindor asked from down the table.

"I don't think it matters what I'm doing, it matters what I _could_ be doing." She gave him a suggestive smile – she received a dark blush in return - and then turned back to Harry, who had put on a very Malfoy-like pout. Seamus stood up from across the Hall, his face a puce and he stormed over to them, hands in fists. He pulled on Hermione's arm, who detached herself from Harry without any sign of guilt. To Draco's further horror, the raven-haired male turned to Pansy and began to talk in the low voice of someone flirting.

Seamus did not relinquish his grip on his girlfriend and she walked after him, winking at random males who watched with jaws open and everyone watched with sick fascination as though it were a soap opera on television. He had no choice but to follow his partner out of the Great Hall, falling into step with Crabbe. When they exited the Hall, she had her arms wrapped tightly around Seamus.

He pushed her away, backing up. "Oh, no. Look, I don't know what the potions done to you but – just back up."

"Why? I like being close to you." She smirked at him, fingering her tie slightly and making the Irishman flush.

"Hermione?" Ginny's voice interuped their conversation, and she followed her, face red. "How _could _you? You – you just completely ate Harry's face off in front of the _whole_ school! You _know_ how I feel about – your boyfriend was right there. What are you _wearing_?"

"I'm not doing anything." She rolled her eyes, "Ginny, I'm just enjoying the moment. Seizing the day, and all that."

"You're not seizing the day, you're being a complete and total slut." Ginny's hand flew to her mouth and she watched in horror, as though Hermione would react violently. She didn't, so the Weasley just shook her head, said, "What's wrong with you?" And stormed away

Ron emerged from the hall, his hands clenched and his facial color rivaling Ginny's. "Hermione, _what _the hell?"

"Why is everyone freaking out? Is it my fault I notice hot guys? Speaking of which…" She eyed Ron suggestively, and he turned crimson. Draco snickered, _his head looks an over grown tomato. _

"How could the teachers let you take a potion that would make you act like this?" Neville asked, frowning as another large group of her classmates followed the drama.

"You all need to chill out." She said, wrapping her finger around a strand of hair. "I'm not cheating on Seamus. Its only cheating if you go all the way."

"No its not." Dean argued, crossing his arms.

She smirked at him, deliberately scanning his body. "You can run to first, steal second and sprint to third, but it doesn't count unless you get all the way home."

Most of the people looked quite confused, no doubt because she was referring to a muggle sport, but Dean looked unimpressed by her logic. "Look, boys, I have places to be, people to do…" She smiled at their expressions, "See you later."

With a girly wave she turned on her heel, swaying her hips as she walked and primping her hair. Harry watched her retreating figure with approval, and Draco was pretty sure he heard him say 'Nice ass,' before someone hit him.

They paused outside their dormitory and she turned to him, looking bored. "I should go talk to Seamus. Better salvage our relationship or something." She touched his lips with her fingers and strode down the hall, making him wonder why she'd even walked all the way there with him.

With a shudder of horror he opened the door to Common Room, trying to repress thoughts of Hermione and her newfound sexual prowess. He was surprised that Blaise, Pansy and Harry were already there, lounging around inside.

"What is with Granger?" Pansy was complaining, trying to be nonchalant. "She's such a slut now."

"A sexy slut." Harry smirked, his eyes glazing over in a way that made Draco want to throw up.

And then suddenly a thought came to him as the word 'slut' repeated over and over again inside his head. In his set of instructions, he'd had to add a piece of paper that was magically sealed and he hadn't been able to read.

He dashed into his room (ignoring the strange looks he was receiving) and practically destroyed everything in his haste to find the book. A few pages ripped - he repaired them quickly - and he flipped through, at last coming to the first page of the questionnaire.

_How would you prefer Hermione to act if you had a choice? _

Right where Draco had written 'a slut', there was a rectangular hole. He threw the book away, hoping he had made a real discovery, and hurried out of his room, making sure to check his hair before he did so.

"What did you put in the questionnaire?" He asked urgently.

"What?" Blaise asked, clearly dumbfounded.

"In the questionnaire, the first question asked how you would prefer your person to act, what did you put for Potter?" He really detested when no one else followed his train of thought instantly.

"For Potter…Gay." Blaise said, looking somewhat amused.

Draco turned to Pansy and she said, blushing slightly, "More like Draco." _Of course! We fill out the questionnaire, and they use our answers in the potions! That way you can't copy someone else's theory on what the potion is, they're all different!_

Draco went back to his room without responding to their questions and tried to erase several of his answers, but it didn't work. He even accidentally set his page on fire, and apparently there is such a thing as fire proof paper. He supposed the teachers set a spell on them when they duplicated the answers. _When did they get so smart? _

"Where've you been?" Draco heard Blaise ask and realized Hermione must be back. He emerged from his room and he was disgusted when a bunch of Gryffindors followed her inside.

"Apologizing to Seamus." She answered airily; clearly her thoughts were more preoccupied with sizing up Dean. "He's asleep."

"He's asleep, how could you apologize to him?" Neville asked suspiciously.

Hermione shrugged, "He was awake when I arrived, but now he's not." She smirked at Pansy, whose mouth had fallen open.

"'You shagged him?" Ron choked out. Hermione sat on the couch and crossed her leg, causing her skirt to hike up and Ron to turn a fine shade of magenta.

"Did I say that?"

"You implied it."

"Think whatever you want." She said in a teasing voice.

"What's wrong with you?" Ron thundered, crossing his arms over his chest.

Draco had been enjoying their stupidity, but now it was boring to listen to them pitifully try and figure out what was wrong with Hermione. "You are by far the most unintelligent people I have ever had the unfortunate chance of meeting.

"Do you really think that Granger regularly gets it on with people halfway through the day? It's obvious she is the one who drank the god damn potion, like Potter and hopefully those two." Lavender and Parvati were fawning over Harry, who was enjoying the attention. He pecked Parvati on the cheek. She looked elated and Lavender glared evilly at her.

"We know that, you idiot." Ron muttered, "It's just satisfying to say."

"You can all leave. None of you were invited in here. Get lost." He rubbed his right temple with a frown as they did as he said, with glares.

Ron tried to stay behind, as though his friends needed protecting, but was finally forced to leave when Draco threatened him - as if _he_ would ever try and take advantage of a mudblood. And then, at long last, they were alone in their Common Room.

"I'm going to bed." Pansy announced. She walked to her room, but when she reached the door, stopped, turned around, and looked at Draco. "Goodnight Draco." She said sexily with a wave and disappeared inside her room. Hermione scowled and stomped to her room. Draco smirked - this was what he was used to; girls vying for attention.

"Granger is very…" Blaise began but seemed at a loss for words.

Draco turned on his friend, his neck cracking loudly. "No, she's not. She's not anything! She's a mudblood. She has _no _standards! At least_ Pansy_ has standards, and some _class_. I bet she'd take anyone…"Blaise's mouth fell open and stared at something over his friend's shoulder.

Draco turned around and saw Hermione at the foot of her stairs in a blood red, very revealing piece of lingerie. If she hadn't been so good at Transfiguration, he might have wondered if she actually owned it, but her skills were good enough to transfigure an article of clothing. For the moment he was completely frozen, and then he jerked his head in the other direction.

"What are you three looking at?" Hermione giggled and wandered over to Harry with a predatory gleam in her eye. There was a knock on the door and Draco jumped at the chance to take his eyes off Hermione. Dean stood outside and he pushed past Draco without saying anything, simply scowling in his direction.

"I need to talk to-" His eyes fell onto Hermione straddling Harry, snogging the daylights out of him.

"Granger, you have a visitor." Draco growled and threw himself down on the couch beside Blaise, who watched him, amused. Hermione got up slowly, fixing the strap on her clothing and stood in front of Dean, who looked at her attire nervously.

"I need to talk to you." He said uneasily, "About what you're doing. It's killing Seamus. I know its the potion, but…"

"Why don't you come up to my room with me? We can talk there." Hermione said quietly, lowering her voice so it was impossible to determine what emotion she was trying to portray.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Dean cast an anxious look at Harry, as if he would receive assistance. The other Gryffindor wasn't even looking in their direction.

"Why? What do you expect is going to happen up there?" Hermione purred, grabbing his arm and looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

"Nothing." Dean cleared his throat. "Why can't we talk here? It's about Seamus, is all…"

"You're Seamus's best friend. Of course nothing is going to happen." Hermione took his hand and he followed her helplessly. Harry watched her go, taking the time to eye her backside with appreciation, while Blaise fished around his backpack for a book.

_He won't be Finnegan's best friend for long. _Draco thought, watching the door close. Disgusted by all the Gryffindor 'loyalty' he'd seen that day he retired to his own room, where he fell asleep.

**A/N If there are mistakes in there, I'm very sorry. **

**Please review!**


	5. The Beginning of the End

**A/N- Here's the next part! I hope you enjoy it!**

**Edited: July 9****th****, 2009**

**Disclaimer-I D-O-N-O-T-O-W-N-H-A-R-R-Y-P-O-T-T-E-R.-N-E-V-E-R-W-I-L-L.**

**The Beginning of the End**

When Draco and Hermione walked through the doors leading into the Great Hall, they saw the long table that had been there at the meeting. Many of their classmates were already seated there, and the rest of the school watched with interest. Draco made his way over to Blaise and sat down next to him, purposely ignoring Hermione when she sat down on Harry's lap. He looked around and was disgusted to see that Crabbe and Goyle were cuddling with each other, and Nott was rambling on and on about something that was very complex and contained a lot of formulas, while some Hufflepuff boy was giggling like a girl and batting his eyelashes at Justin Flinch Fletchey. Mandy Brocklehurst just made frog noises every time she opened her mouth and Millicent Bullstrode was explaining to anyone that would listen why their differences made them special. Lavender and Parvati were muttering under their breath and glaring at Hermione.

Blaise looked at Draco's murderous expression, "They're getting unbearable."

"Who?" Draco asked as he glared at the bacon on his plate.

"Granger and Potter, they'll be really upset when the potion wears off. Just look at them." Blaise gave a wolf-like grin and jerked his head at them. "I look forward to it."

"I'm sick of Granger acting like Pansy." Draco pushed his plate away, Hermione had moved on to eggs and it made him sick to watch. "Actually Pansy isn't even this bad."

"You miss the old Granger don't you?" Blaise smirked at Draco in a way that he really did not enjoy.

"No, I miss not having Granger around at all." The truth was, Hermione was acting like all the girls in the Slytherin House acted like when they were trying to impress him, and the thought of Hermione Granger acting like that made him wonder if there were any _real_ people in the world.

He was silent for the rest of the meal, despite Blaise's prodding to make conversation. After breakfast was over, the sixth years divided and went their separate ways. Draco was disgruntled that he had to go to Transfiguration with Hermione, and considered skipping transfiguration that. Unfortunately, McGonagall had already seen him, so he couldn't unless he got detention.

The rest of the day proceeded normally, or as normal as it could be with Hermione's behavior. Draco had been walking to their next lesson and had just reached the door when he realized Hermione was not with him.

With a sigh of annoyance and exasperation, he dashed back and found her snogging Harry outside the Great Hall. Blaise and Pansy had also been forced to run back and get their partner, so the three Slytherins pried the couple apart and Draco dashed back to Arithmancy whilst dragging Hermione. Surprisingly she could match his pace, but by the time they reached their class they were 10 minutes late. To top it off Draco lost 5 points but Hermione lost none because "she wasn't normal", and Draco had been supposed to "make sure she kept out of trouble". He spent the rest of class muttering expletives under his breath.

By the time dinner arrived that evening Draco was irritable and ready to throw something. He only got about five minutes to talk to Blaise privately about matters concerning Death Eaters and then Pansy told him they were leaving and forcefully dragged Blaise from the table. So Draco had to bear the rest of dinner listening to Hermione flirt audaciously with him.

After an hour of attempting to do homework, he had a quick shower and went to lay on his bed. He was asleep in seconds.

-

-

The next morning he woke in a considerably better mood. It was the third day of the week, which meant that the potion was halfway done, and then they would all go back to normal again. He dressed and perfected his appearance in his room, taking extra care on his hair and left with a satisfied smirk. His satisfaction was short lived, however, when he found that Hermione had moved from Harry to Blaise, and Pansy was now the object of Potter's affections.

"Morning." Blaise didn't even look at him and then fell into step beside Hermione as they walked to the Great Hall. "You should play Quidditch sometime."

"Oh, I don't know." Hermione gave him a sweet smile, laying her hand on his arm. "I've never played. I'm not sure."

"I can teach you." Blaise suggested, not even shaking off her arm.

"Ooh, that would be wonderful!" Hermione said excitedly, sidling closer to the dark Slytherin.

"I doubt Draco would mind if we went down the pitch later."

"Yes, actually, he would fucking mind." He snarled, glaring at his best friend's head. His anger was on full tilt and was almost out of control. Blaise glanced back at him and, when he saw Draco's expression, quieted and ignored the rest of Hermione's advancements.

"What are you doing with the mudblood?" Draco hissed to Blaise as they sat down at the long table.

"I'm just in it for the ride." Blaise hissed back, smirking. Draco could usually believe his friend about everything but this time he didn't. Blaise had never really reacted to any of the girls in Slytherin when they behaved this way, which most people in his House felt was strange, and he was not the kind of guy that usually went into things 'for the ride.'

Breakfast was incredibly horrific, partly because Hermione was flirting with Blaise and it was nauseating to hear and watch, and partly because Pansy and Harry were snogging. When he'd felt something hit his back, he'd turned in anger to say something and had been confronted with Pansy's back and Harry's arms.

"Pansy, why in hell are you snogging _Potter_?" Draco asked in horror and shock, his jaw dropping open.

"It's nice to get some attention once in awhile." She hissed and then set about ignoring him for the rest of the day. Draco stared into his dish and then listened for a bit while Nott explained something about e equaling mc squared, whatever that was supposed to mean.

Between lessons Hermione never left Blaise's side, and Draco was feeling extremely put out. He couldn't even _talk_ to Blaise, because Hermione's lips were pretty much planted on Draco's friend at every chance she got. The Gryffindors had stolen his best friends, which was just one more reason to hate them, and he had nothing to do but go to class and ignore them as best he could. He laughed at Blaise when he tripped and fell, but sobered quite quickly when Hermione proceeded to kiss every part of Blaise's anatomy so it wouldn't hurt anymore.

"Yeah, it hurts there." Blaise pointed and smirked at Draco, who turned away and sighed.

-

During lunch, a fight erupted between two of Harry's newfound groupies. They crowded around him at the table and were watching with extreme interest, intent on hearing his every word, when Lavender's hand had gotten a little to close to him for Parvati's liking. It escalated from that point.

"He's mine!" Parvati screeched at Lavender from across the table, and Draco wondered idly if they'd imbibed the same potion. It seemed that they were both obsessed with Harry.

"No he's not! He's shagged me more then you!" Argued Lavender loudly, which drew the attention of most people in the Great Hall. She began to stalk around the side of the table.

Parvati gasped, "No he hasn't you stupid whore!" Lavender launched herself at Parvati and got hold of her hair, pulling. Parvati's scream echoed in the soundless hall. She kicked Lavender's legs and Lavender fell, pulling Parvati down with her.

"You bitch! How dare you try anything on my man!" Parvati screamed as they rolled around on the floor, kicking and hitting each other.

"Y_our_ man? Why can't you get it into your head that he's mine! Mine!" Lavender yelled. Harry took the time that they were distracted to snog Pansy rather heartily. The teachers were hurrying over from the staff table and had to push through a crowd of students to get there.

"Ugh! Get off me!" Parvati punched at her friend's face with a fist and there was a loud crack.

"Ouch! My nose!" Lavender screamed and sunk her fist into the other girl's gut.

Apparently McGonagall got tired to pushing students out of the way, as there was a large flash of white light and the girls were dragged apart. A moment later, their Head of House appeared through a path and waved her wand again, preventing them from going at each other again. Even as she led them from the Hall, Draco could still hear her berating them harshly.

Blaise whistled, eyebrows wide and an amused smirk on his face. "These Gryffindor girls are dirty."

"It's kind if amusing." Draco replied flatly, but his reply was drowned out by Hermione's own. ("I can be dirty for you.") With a groan he dropped his head into his hands, not caring that the rest of the student body could clearly see.

-

-

After classes he found himself sitting outside in the stands of the Quidditch pitch, watching Blaise try and fail to get Hermione onto the broomstick. Three quarters of an hour later Hermione hadn't gotten off the ground, but he had witnessed several kisses, despite his attempts at doing his homework. Pansy and Harry had wandered off together and were probably making out in a shed or under the stands.

He tried to be calm and sort himself out. Reasonably, he tried to think, he shouldn't really care. It was just Granger, who frankly he didn't give a stick about. And then it was Blaise, who was just his best friend. He'd seen Blaise with loads of girls and didn't care. So, he concluded, it must be the way people he was supposed to know were different. That made sense to him. He didn't like change, so he didn't like this. His only consolation was that it was almost over.

In the meantime, he decided to break up whatever little songfest was going on on the pitch and packed up his homework quickly, covering the distance between himself and the other two in fast strides.

"That's enough Granger. I'm really not interested in wasting more time out here while you try to seduce him. Either he's not interested or is just too stupid to understand what you want. Personally I think it's the latter." Draco had pretty much used up his quota of viciousness for the day, so he spoke in a mildly weary voice. Blaise looked both annoyed and slightly upset, which the blond found slightly pathetic.

"What are you doing?" She asked him, her eyes narrowed as he tugged on her arm and set off towards the school.

"You shouldn't be hanging around with him. All he's doing is taking advantage of you, so it's not like he cares about you."

"Why do you even care? You're just like him. I bet that if I weren't a muggleborn, you'd be all over me too." She said, her voice shaking and he turned in shock. He really hoped she wasn't going to cry.

As it turned out, it was trembling from anger. Her eyes were flashing a dark brown and he was struck that this expression was the closest to Granger as he knew her. "Don't try to pretend like you know me." He rubbed his right temple. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's w_rong_ with me? That's a good question! Maybe you should answer it, since you're the one who treats me like I'm part of some kind of alien race!" She was shaking, he noticed with attached interest. And her eyes looked quite unfocused right now, he noted. _Oh, no. Please don't-_

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted. He darted forward and managed to prevent her head from hitting the ground, and then stood there. _How bloody dramatic. _

He contemplated leaving her on the ground and pretending he'd lost her, but in the end just hefted her into a more comfortable position and brought her back to the castle. To his relief, there were very few people in the hallway and he managed to avoid most of them, so when he reached their dormitory a limited number of students had seen him carrying her.

He laid her down on the couch and could have sworn her eyes flickered open for a second, but when he did a double take they were closed. With a small sigh he walked to his room and spent a few hours trying to do his homework. When everything he wrote looking like chicken scratch and words were blurry he finally consented to going to sleep.

-

-

It seemed that angry mobs enjoyed accusing Hermione of a variety of things, as the next day another one came after her. This time it was a group of fifth and sixth year girls from Gryffindor who had banded together and hoped to confront the problem of Hermione. Or at least, that's what they'd agreed on the night before. They didn't quite know how to go about it.

"Hermione _what_ do you think you're doing!" Romilda Vane cried as she strode angrily towards Hermione, who was attached by way of lips to Blaise. Hermione detached herself and raised an eyebrow at the girl, who visibly quailed under the look.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She asked icily, "Surely you've learned by now what snogging is?"

"It looks like you are pretty much on top of your best friend's worst enemy's best friend!" Cried another 5th year girl, and then thought over what she said with a confused frown.

"I am." Hermione replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm glad we sorted that out."

"You're destroying the Gryffindor name!" Another one yelled, flicking her brown hair over her shoulder superiorly.

"Which name is that?" Draco asked sarcastically, his arms folded over his chest. He wasn't on her side, but the high pitched, horrified voices of the girls were quite annoying and were giving him a headache.

"I'm not coming to class." Hermione announced, "If anyone asks, Draco, tell them I'm sick."

"Don't order me around, Granger!" Draco yelled after her as she walked down the hall with his best friend. Or ex-best friend, really.

"Fine Draco, if you want to come, fine. But I can't guarantee that Blaise's clothes won't come off in the heat of the moment, and who knows what might happen then." She grinned at him in a slightly perverse way. "If you want to see us get it on, fine."

Draco was disturbed for a variety of reasons, one of which was hearing Hermione Granger say 'get it on.' He swore and shouldered his way through the mob, who didn't know what to do now that Hermione had left. He told Professor Flitwick that she'd come down with something and sat alone at his table, scribbling furiously on his paper until theoretical charms calmed him down somewhat.

_It's almost over. Almost. Almost over._

-

-

The bell rang and he reluctantly packed up his bag. During class, without Granger, it was almost normal. He could focus on his schoolwork and his mind was at peace. Outside class, however, he had to put up with all the things that he hated.

He strode through the crowded halls, shoving people when necessary while his eyes searched for his partner. He found her leaning against a wall, talking to Blaise and the other members in his group.

"Granger, you are forbidden to go near Zabini anymore!" Draco said angrily, shifting his bag's position on his shoulder and stopping in front of her.

"Excuse me?" Hermione raised her eyebrows and propped her hands on her hips.

"I said stay away from him." He responded, rolling his eyes.

"Don't tell me what to do." She glared at him, raising her eyebrows.

"I am your partner, I am the one who will get detention if anything happens to you, I am the one who is supposed to be responsible for you, I won't take the blame if you end up hurting yourself, so just cut it out." Draco said, extremely put out. He had been having a very bad week, no extra snogging; his archenemy's best friend was constantly hitting on him; she was acting more like the girls he usually cut class with then the goody two shoes Gryffindork that he was used to and his friends were all turning their backs on him!

"You know, if you're jealous, just say so." Hermione smirked at Draco, who was struggling to control the red hot anger bubbling over the top. He turned and strode away, taking deep breaths as he did so. _I'll just ignore them. If I don't talk to them, she won't talk to me. _

_It's almost over._

-

-

Draco awoke feeling extremely well rested and happy. Today Hermione would be changed back. He went to shower, carefully ignoring the snogging couple in the couch, and let the hot water soothe his muscles. After he spent a ridiculously long time cleansing he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped outside the bathroom, almost right into Hermione.

"Draco…" Hermione said as she let her eyes shamelessly run up and down his body. "I didn't realize you were in there."

Dodging her beckoning hands he darted into his room and slammed the door behind him.He was so antsy that he had to spend an extra amount of time getting ready to smooth out his robes and hair and hide visible signs of his aggravation. When he opened the door, Hermione was outside and was holding an envelope. "It says your name on it, and I can't open it, so…"

He tore it open, praying that it wasn't an apology saying, 'oops, you're stuck with her this way now!' Thankfully, it was a short note that quelled his fear.

_Your classes will conclude after lunch today, as we are not sure the exact time the potions will lose effect._

_Deputy Headmistress_

_Professor McGonagall_

The note put Draco in a jubilant mood and he even managed to smirk. Everyone they passed in the hall looked at Hermione with distaste, and Draco wondered how she explain away here behaviour. Most of the sixth years looked in high spirits, particularly the partner unaffected by the potion.

"Hey Draco." Crabbe said when he sat down, Draco nodded.

"How are you?" He moved a bit closer and the blonde gave him a sharp look, moving away.

"Fine. You?"

"Good." The thickset male moved closer again and reached an arm out.

"I'm not cuddling with you." Draco said sharply and Crabbe looked extremely disappointed. He stared at the syrup on his plate sadly and Draco felt suddenly very irritated.

"Go back to Goyle. He's the only person who can actually stand you anyway." Draco snapped and Crabbe stood up and left. Draco felt a sick contentment at making him miserable, however a moment later guilt overrode it.

"So Draco," Nott said conversationally, "I came to the conclusion that the e=mc² formula-"

"I really couldn't care less."

"You really should care." Theodore said, shaking his head. "The cosign that matches the-"

"Nott, shut up!" Draco huffed, "I don't have a clue what that even means! Stop pestering me, alright!" He moodily jabbed at the food on his plate and shot dirty looks at everyone that dared to look at him.

Classes passed slowly. Hermione had apparently decided to attend them all and spent her time flirting obnoxiously with him, and he spent the whole time edging away from her without attracting attention.

"Mr. Malfoy?" The whole class was staring at him.

"What?" He asked aggressively and several people in the class snickered.

"Can you explain the theory of Mr. Wolf to the rest of us?"

"The most famous theory of Mr. Wolf's is that there was a time when the magic folk lived in harmony with muggles." He began, rolling his eyes in a way that told everyone else exactly how credible he thought it was. "However the muggles tried to use the magic people for their own bidding and the world was thrown into chaos. One witch and wizard destined to be together tried to stop the chaos and ended up killing nearly every living thing on earth. They were separated and started out on different sides of the planet, and they never met up again and rumor was that one of them lost their memory. His evidence, so he claims, is a rune that he discovered along the coast on Indonesia.' Draco said calmly, he knew this off the back of his head, he learned it as a child.

"Very good, 5 points to Slytherin."

"Granger, you had better stop touching my leg under the table or I will seriously harm you and make it seem like an accident." He growled furiously, holding her wrist under the table as soon as their teacher looked away.

"Well, you are quite good at it, I suppose." She said shortly and yanked her wrist away from him.

She completely ignored him through Arithmancy, and he found he preferred it better that way. However, somewhere between the end of class and their walk to the Great Hall Hermione's brain seemed to go into overdrive. She was constantly giggling and twirling her hair and strutting and doing a whole variety of things that made Draco cringe.

"Harry! There you are!" She cried when she saw him and ran in his direction. Within seconds they were pressed against the wall and people were giving them disgusted looks.

"Come on, Granger, I do plan on eating." Draco grabbed her elbow and dragged him into the Great Hall. He was getting quite good at hauling her away from people, to be honest. Filch had actually taken to standing outside the Great Hall and didn't let anyone go through unless they had their partner.

"Can you start treating me like a real person? I am _not_ your slave! Don't you dare order me around!" She cried out, wrenching her arm from his hand. "I'm so sick of this!"

Draco wheeled around to face her. "Don't talk to me like that mudblood!"

Out of nowhere – looking back on it, Draco couldn't even pinpoint the direction he'd come from – Seamus came charging at him and tackled the blond to the ground. He kicked Seamus in the gut and, while the other male let out a groan of pain, he pushed him off. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten just how vicious Gryffindors could be and the Irish boy came right back at him, punching every inch of him that he could.

Hagrid dragged them apart and he was forced to stand in the middle of the hall and endure the embarrassment of McGonagall and Snape reaming them both out for fighting. Neither of them sustained any serious injury and after being given several detentions he was allowed to go sit down.

He took a place beside Blaise heavily and grabbed a sandwich from a platter, sipping some ice cold pumpkin juice with a sigh. For the first time that week, his best friend was apparently interested in having a conversation and turned to him. "Are you alright, mate? You've been pretty pissy all week."

Draco merely shrugged noncommittally. "It's been a weird week. And disturbing, too."

Blaise decided to drop the subject, as neither of them liked discussing feelings. "Hey listen, how has your mother been since the Department of Mysteries?"

"She's better, I suppose. But having Father sent to Azkaban really changed her perspective on life. Been having a bloody awful time, though." Draco said carefully, making sure that no one else could hear.

"My mum was furious. Says there's no way she'd ever join the Dark Lord now." Blaise muttered, so quietly Draco had to lean in to hear.

"What?" The blond hissed back, eyes widening.

"We've always been neutral anyway, but if someone hears about it, it would be like taking a side." Blaise sighed, his eyes shutting for a moment. "Then he'd come after her."

"What are you whispering about?" A voice said quietly by his ear and he jumped.

"Granger? What the hell?" He looked around and was surprised to note that people were standing up and leaving.

"See you later, mate." Blaise gave Draco a grim smile, stood up, and left the hall with Harry and Pansy. He remained where he'd been sitting, staring at his plate.

"Draco, why do you hate me?" Hermione asked suddenly, not seeming to care that they were now the only ones sitting down.

"Why do _you_ hate _me_?" Draco countered, swinging his leg over the bench and lifting up his bag, wincing as the strap cut into his shoulder.

"I can't hate something as attractive as you." She purred, standing up and moving close to him.

"That's pretty shallow." He muttered, shaking his hand when she tried to intertwine hers with his. Without looking at her he started walking away from the table to the great wooden doors, hoping that the potion would wear off sooner rather than later.

"Draco!" She came skipping over to him, smirking. "Not so fast!"

Much, much sooner.

-

-

Eventually Draco just got sick of Hermione and retired to his bedroom, locking the door with a variety of spells to keep her out. He emerged a few hours later and found that Hermione was flirting with Harry on one of the couches. He was just considering going back into his room when something happened. Both Harry and Hermione stiffened suddenly and both their eyes flashed a familiar blue.

The way they were now looking at each other was a pretty clear indication that they were back to their normal frame of minds. The bushy haired Gryffindor's face was crimson and her mouth fell open, whereas Harry's was extremely pale, which was a shocking contrast to his dark hair.

"I-I-" Her voice broke off and Draco wondered why he'd wanted to see this moment. He'd expected some sort of twisted pleasure in watching her realize what the rest of the school thought of her, but seeing the look of horror and a bit of fear made him want to leave the room immediately.

"Hermione, neither of us…" Harry trailed off uncertainly and she looked up at him. Even from his door Draco could see tears gather at the corners of her eyes.

"I have to go." She stood up abruptly, pulling her robes closely around her body. Somehow she was able to walk up the stairs to her room, but she had difficulty restraining herself from running.

When the door closed, Draco looked at Harry, who was staring at the door. Slowly the Gryffindor turned and walked into the bathroom. A second later there were several large bangs and the sound of glass breaking, and then he came out, his hand dripping with blood.

"Potter-" Pansy began, pity dancing across her face.

"Don't." Was the reply they got, and then he left their dormitory all together, leaving an uncomfortable silence.

Draco didn't know what to do, so he went into the bathroom and noted that Potter had thrown a vase against the wall, leaving flowers and water and glass shards all over the floor. He couldn't seem to care, though, so he trailed back into his room and closed the door.

-

-

The people who passed Harry in the hallway stared at him with slight disgust, interest or the usual worshipping expressions. He wasn't quite sure where he was going at first, until he found that it was the direction of Ron's dormitory.

"Harry?!" He turned to see Lavender speed-walking towards him, a bruise on her cheekbone. He felt a surge of guilt.

"I guess the potions off everyone." She said, returning to a normal pace when she fell in step with him. "What happened to your hand?"

"Nothing." He replied, uncomfortable from her presence. "I'm just going. Somewhere."

"Oh." Comprehension dawned in her blue eyes. "How is she?"

"I don't know, she's in her room." He replied, wishing his classmate would leave. He didn't mind her that much, but she wasn't someone he particularly liked talking to. Especially not after the amount of snogging they'd done.

"She'll come around." She patted his shoulder consolingly. "It's not your fault. Or hers. People will get over it, just keep your head high. That's what I'm doing."

He gave her a somewhat surprised look and she snorted. "Do you think people are still looking at me the same, after fighting with my best friend over you? Not likely."

"I guess. I have to go." He shook off her hand and looked away, hoping she would get the message and leave him alone. Thankfully, she did and he walked the rest of the way alone.

Morag opened the door when he knocked, looking slightly embarrassed. "Harry. Hi."

He nodded in response but was saved speaking when Ron saw him. "Harry! Oh good its off you two. Listen, where's Hermione?"

"In her room. Probably crying." He replied, walking to the window and staring out it into the sky.

"She'll be OK, though?" His friend looked uncomfortable and Morag tactfully left the room. "I'm not very good with crying girls. Should we leave her for a bit?"

"I doubt she'd come out even if we didn't." He responded with a sigh. "She's pretty upset. Especially after what we did…"

"Yeah." They were both silent. "Listen, Harry…About Hermione. Are you two…you know…Are you…"

Harry turned to Ron and almost couldn't keep off the disbelieving grimace from his face. "Really, Ron? She's like my sister."

His friend stared at him for a moment longer and then let a smile break forth. "OK."

"Alright?"

"Yeah." Ron clapped him on the shoulder and Harry relaxed for the moment.

**Author's Note: Thanks to GalaxyStorme, loveudraco, Silent Kunoichi aka Fiona, Swimming-Gal, Elemental Dragon1, Inspyred, Kandygurl4, and joeylover-dragonofra. I really appreciate you reviews!**

**Edited July 9****th****, 2009: Editing this tires me out. And makes me cringe.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	6. The Consequences

**Author's Note: Finished edit September 1****st****, 2009**

**Disclaimer - I would love to be the genius who invented Harry Potter and universe, but I'm not. **

Hermione stared at the ceiling in her room, ignoring the people she could hear outside her room. Emotions were throbbing throughout her body and she was so distracted by them that she couldn't even bear contemplating how _they_ must feel about her. Or perhaps it was just that sort of contemplation that sent the feelings rushing through her on overdrive. She was so ashamed. Her actions – her behavior - everything that had happened the previous week flooded her memory.

"Hermione, at least talk to me!" Seamus called, slightly exasperated, through the door. His thick Irish accent made her smile, until she remembered the reason for her self imprisonment. Even _thinking_ about it filled her with hot shame, making her throat tighten and her face warm.

A small group was gathered in the Common Room outside, and they watched silently as Seamus, frowning, gave up for the second time and came to sit back down on the couch. Silent, they adopted various expressions of confusion and frustration.

"Why is she hiding from us?" Neville asked aloud, drawing the group's focus to himself.

"She's probably worried her image is ruined." Parvati said, looking woefully at the door. She seemed surprised when it didn't open, and Hermione didn't charge into the room and throw herself before them, wailing.

"It can't be that bad, really, can it?" Neville said dubiously, clearly not agreeing that it was her image she was most worried about.

"Sure, Neville." Harry said tensely, "This is really nothing at all."

"Calm down." Dean said, the soothing tone of his voice contradicted by his exasperated rolling of eyes. "No one was hurt. This will pass over."

"How do you know _this,_" He gestured frantically between the door and himself, "isn't permanent damage?"

"You're not the only one who's worried about it." Seamus snapped, glowering. "She's my girlfriend, in case you've forgotten."

"She's been your girlfriend for about two weeks," Harry replied icily, exchanging sour looks with Ron. "One of which she wasn't in her right mind. Forgive me for being skeptical of how much you_ care_ about her."

"Why don't we make a plan?" Neville suggested, clearly trying to be optimistic. "To lure her out?"

"If Hermione doesn't want to come out, she won't." Lavender said flatly, resting her head in her hands. "No plan will change that."

"So are you saying we should just leave her to wallow in her pain?" Seamus asked with a tense set in his jaw.

"Oh, shut up." Ron said, annoyed. "Obviously you don't know her too well if you think she'll be lured out."

"Why don't you and Harry just get off my flaming back!" Seamus said loudly, "Everything I do you criticize and say I'm not right for her." Ron opened his mouth to retort but Seamus silenced him. "You don't need to say it to my face, I'm not blind! I can see it in your expressions. She can make her own decisions, why don't you let her!"

Lavender and Parvati exchanged impressed looks, no doubt wishing they had a boyfriend to passionately rant about them. Their eyes then flicked repeatedly to the door, obviously making sure they had a means of escape. Ron and Harry both glared at him, while Neville and Dean appeared to be trying to figure out ways to break up a fight, if one should occur.

It was at that moment that Blaise, Pansy and Draco slipped out of Blaise's room, their eyes sweeping dispassionately about the room. Judging from the smirk on Draco's face, he didn't care at all about their current situation and was actually relishing it.

"Having a bit of a pity party, are we?" His voice was cold and arrogant, exactly the sort that tensed them up even further. "Have you finally caught on to the fact that you're all blithering idiots?"

"Piss off!" Ron snarled, his face flushing from anger.

"Or what?" He sneered, raising an eyebrow.

"Or we'll make you leave." Harry said, standing up. As a lazy, haughty smile slowly formed on his face and the Gryffindor was nearly overcome by the desire to punch it off.

"I'm quite afraid." Draco said sarcastically, "You Gryffindors are incredibly scary."

"Leave us alone." Parvati said quickly, rising to her feet. Lavender immediately followed, her hand wandering to where her wand was stowed. "Just leave."

Pansy scowled at her, whilst Blaise merely surveyed their group with haughty indifference. "Take it from me, Patil." Draco's lip curled back, "I don't have any desire to stay here in _your_ presence."

They swept from the room in a collective swirl of black robes and the flashes of shiny hair, which seemed to amplify the rage crackling in the air.

"Well." Parvati cleared her throat, trying to fill in the awkward and tense silence that followed their departure. "Lavender and I…er…dinner! I mean, erm, Lavender and I are going to dinner. See you guys there." The two stood and hurried out the door without a backwards glance, despite the fact that dinner had been over an hour or so ago.

"Me too." Neville trotted after them, throwing an anxious look over his shoulder as he dodged out of the entrance.

"Get out." Harry inclined his head towards the door. Seamus opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but when the expression on his face darkened, he assented. Dean and Seamus left, the latter glaring daggers at them whilst the former directed him out the door.

"I'm kind of worried." Ron said, pursing his lips, before continuing. "She's so determined she could probably convince herself she's doing _us_ a favor by not coming out. Who_ knows_ what she'll end up doing?"

"I just wish she would talk to me." Harry grumbled, not having to mention the fact that he really disliked discussing his feelings. "Let's go get something to eat. We've missed dinner, but we might as well try the Kitchens."

Hermione peered through the crack in the door, staring as her friends left the Common Room. She then turned away and pressed her back to the door, dropping her face into her hands. There was a part of her that wanted to run after them and hold them and be told that everything was OK, but the stronger part of her mind was refusing all urges to do so.

_This is stupid. _She tried to tell herself, as though those three words could keep the tears forming in her eyes from falling. She'd never cried this much in one night before. _I shouldn't care about the rest of the school. I know the truth, my friends know the truth, and the teachers know the truth. _

She had always prided herself in the fact that she didn't care about what others thought of her. She knew who she was, she knew what she wanted, and she concentrated on the important parts of life, trying not to be as influenced as others by pop culture and materialism.

Her behavior from the past week or so was a slap in the face. It practically defied every single thing she had built herself up on over the years. And if not all, it certainly felt like it. Everything she had made herself was now crumbling into one massive pile of dust. Every single person in Hogwarts would witness it. They would say terrible things behind her back and they would all be true. It was horrible.

_That doesn't mean Harry and Ron have to be shut out. _Most people would probably find the voice in her head slightly insane, but she found that the voice of reason was really just her subconscious presenting answers to certain dilemmas or problems. _I can't face them. Not after everything that's happened with Harry. It would be too awkward. Who knows? Maybe after seeing me in such a different way, they won't even want to be friends with me. That response to the potion had to have come from somewhere, right?_

Hermione's stomach grumbled uncomfortably and she grimaced, unable to deny her need for food any longer. She'd already eaten the remaining half of a bar of chocolate she'd stashed away in her drawer, but that wasn't substantial enough. Especially considering how little she'd eaten the previous week, what with being occupied by various males during mealtimes.

_The only place I can get food right now is the Kitchens. _She thought with a resigned sigh, getting to her feet and grimacing, trying to shake the pins out of her feet. After carefully pulling her skirt to its longest possible length without taking it right off her hips – she was quite sensitive about how much was covered, after such indecent exposure – and wrapping her robes around her firmly she couldn't delay it any longer.

Traveling quickly, and as silently as she could, she crept through the hallways to the Kitchens. It wasn't her curfew yet, so she couldn't be given detention or anything like that for it. It was contact with anyone else that she wished to avoid. To her intense relief, she was granted that reprieve and found the halls mostly deserted. She reached the portrait and tickled the pear, slipping inside quickly while glancing over her shoulder.

The voice speaking was so close she almost let out a startled scream, she was so on edge. "Just remember to keep an eye out for her. If she doesn't come down in another hour, bring the food up to her room."

"Yes, Master Harry Potter!" Dobby squeaked as she stumbled and pressed herself flat against the wall. They were just around the corner, and the only thing she had to protect herself was the wall and a few sacks of flour randomly place in the corner.

"Thanks a lot, Dobby." Harry said gratefully and she darted to the flour, lifting one sack with a small hmph. It was _unbelievably_ heavy, but she managed to maneuver it up so it was resting on top of another. Hurriedly she squeezed herself behind the small wall, of a sort, and crouched down.

"I'll bring her something now." Seamus was speaking, sounding cross, and she heard some shuffling. The three then began to bicker, punctuated on the occasion by Dean's voice, and then her two friends assented to letting him bring food up for her. The two then departed with a few last words of thanks to Dobby, their conversation muted as they left.

Making a break for the door while Seamus was there was not a good idea, as much as she wanted to run, with her arms flailing, out. _Besides, I might encounter Harry and Ron._ She tried to be reasonable and stayed put, attempting to stretch her back in the tight space.

Unfortunately, she glanced out of a small crack between the bags and caught sight of the food Seamus's arms were laden with. Her stomach then growled noisily and her eyes widened in horror. He dropped the food to the floor, gripped his wand and pointed it outwards.

"Who's there?" He hissed, his eyes slightly too wide.

Knowing there was no point in hiding, Hermione stood up, revealing herself from behind the flour. He blinked twice and let his arm drop to his side, before hurrying forward to help her out. He then looked at her intently for a minute, and pulled her into a warm embrace, hugging her tightly.

"I was worried Hermione, what's wrong?" Seamus whispered in her ear, still not releasing her. His breath tickled her ear and she shivered, ignoring the desire to pull away.

"I…I've made a complete fool of myself." She murmured back, sighing softly as he smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. "The school must think I'm a complete hypocrite."

"Hermione, no one who drank the potion could control what they did." Seamus's Irish brogue made her insides melt a bit. "It's not your fault."

"They don't know that. I just…I did things with Harry that I never would have in a million years. Ever." She stared into his eyes, "I'm so sorry."

"I told you, it's not your fault." He said with a small smile, though it was a bit strained."You couldn't help it. I don't blame you."

There was silence as he ran his hands up and down her arms, making her pleasantly warm. At the moment, the part of her mind that wanted to talk to her friends and be with Seamus had won. "Is Harry angry?" She asked finally, staring over his shoulder.

"Yeah." He saw her stricken expression and continued, "Not at you, of course. He's quite mad at Zabini, for using you. And himself, I think."

"Why? He didn't do anything intentionally. He wasn't in his right mind…" She trailed off as she realized he was in the exact same situation as her, and she was trying to justify his actions the way Seamus was hers.

"I heard him talking about it with Ron. He thinks he should've had more control." He shook his head, "The usual."

Before she could say anything – what she would have she didn't know – her stomach rumbled and the two sat down to eat. Dobby fetched everything she had ever had any sort of inclination to eat and soon her stomach was wonderfully full. She felt awfully sleepy and her devastation from earlier that day seemed so far off, like a dream she'd had years before.

He walked her back to her room, their footsteps quick, as curfew was fast approaching, and then paused outside her dormitory's entrance. She turned to her boyfriend with a smile, "Thanks, Seamus. You've really helped me out, a lot."

"Anytime you want to talk," he leaned in, resting his forehead against hers, "I'm willing to listen."

She smiled, her eyes fluttering shut and he kissed her softly, his lips barely brushing hers before he pulled away. "Goodnight. Sweet dreams."

"You, too." She said quietly, and then smiled as he walked down the hallway. Barely thinking about the fact that there could be people in the Common Room she opened the door, smiling to herself.

Harry sat, staring into the depths of the fire with a concentrated expression on his face. Blaise was lying on the other couch, staring at the ceiling, and barely looked up when she walked in the door. Both Draco and Pansy were absent from the room. None of that really mattered, though, when Harry caught sight of her and jumped to his feet.

"Hermione! I thought you were still-" He floundered for words and she stood, frozen. "Are you OK? Where were you?"

Her eyes were wide with shock and her mouth was parted slightly, the tingling from Seamus's kiss completely gone. "Seamus. I was with Seamus. He wanted to talk." She forced the words passed her lips and immediately regretted it when his expression froze and then became full of hurt. Of course to him it meant she wanted to talk to him and not to her best friends. Of course he was upset. Of course she couldn't do anything to rectify the situation.

With a large inhalation of breath she dashed up to her room, wiping at the tears pooling in her eyes.

-

Harry stared after the blur that was his best friend, barely registering the slam as her door banged shut. So what if she would rather talk to Seamus? He _was _her boyfriend, after all. There was certainly no reason she should feel it was necessary to talk to him or Ron. They weren't her best friends, or anything important like that.

"You've really messed up now, Potter." Blaise said, whistling softly.

"Piss off." He snapped, "It's mostly your fault anyway."

"Really?" Asked one of his partner's skeptically, "How exactly am I responsible for her irrational devastation?"

"_You_ were the one who used her when she wasn't in her right mind!" Harry snapped, "Just because you think its fun to play around with indisposed girls does _not_ mean-"

"Fuck you, Potter." Blaise suddenly exploded, his eyes narrowed to the point that they seemed to be slits, "You don't know _anything_ about me."

He snorted in response to that statement, and glowered as the Slytherin stood. For one moment it seemed that their seething glares would escalate into some sort of brawl, but then, without another word, Blaise stormed from the room and slammed his door so noisily he thought for a moment it had broken off its hinges.

Harry slowly got to his feet, shoving his hands into his pockets. The tantalizing strands of flames flickered and danced before him, but he ignored the draw of watching them and walked to his own room. The moment he laid down – just to get a quick rest, before he had a shower – he fell asleep.

"_Harry guess what?" Hermione ran over to him joyfully, her hair bouncing on her shoulders. They were surrounded by a strange, haze like white that still seemed to have substance and wasn't out of place._

"_What?" Harry asked, the strangest sense of fear filling his body._

"_I'm pregnant!" She cried happily, throwing her arms around his neck._

"_Again?" He asked in disbelief, too shocked to return her embrace._

"_Yes, our 20th! Look!" Hermione pointed to her stomach, which was steadily getter bigger and bigger. "What's happening?" Hermione exploded and thousands of babies fell from the sky saying 'dada.'_

"_NOOO!" He shouted, turning to run._

Harry's eyes flew open and he stared at the ceiling. _Hermione isn't pregnant. _He reassured himself, which did nothing for his stuttering heartbeat. _We didn't even _go_ that far. _

The time said it was just after midnight, he noted as he pulled himself out of bed. His face was creased from where it had rested on his blanket and he felt strange, dressed in his robes. A hot shower was definitely in order, so he dragged himself to the bathroom and turned on the water, before undressing himself and taking off the bandages on his hands. The water was extremely hot and he lessened the heat a bit, hissing as it touched his hands.

_Hermione will come around. I know it. She has to. _Searching desperately for a subject that wasn't his currently strained relationships, his mind immediately found Ginny, as it was prone to do. He felt his stomach flip flop, no doubt an after effect of the discomfort of his dream, as he thought about that smile she always shot at him, mischievous and over her shoulder as her hair flashed in the light. And then he remembered a dark hand, threaded through that hair, and a scowl adorned his face.

Dean was _his_ age – he had no business being with Ginny. She was one of his mate's sisters, after all. And they definitely did _not_ need to showcase how comfortable with each other they were in public.

_Or, _he frowned, _ever. At all._

Frustrated, he hurried through washing his hair and body and then stepped out of the shower, pulling his clothes on before his skin was properly dry. His hair was dripping so much that he towel dried it swiftly, and then left the bathroom, as if doing so would leave all his thoughts behind him.

To his surprise, he was confronted by the object of one of such thoughts.

"Harry! Oh, er, I didn't realize-" Hermione broke off awkwardly, holding a cloth bag that he suspected held shampoo and some sort of soap.

"Just talk to me." He said quickly, stepping closer.

Her eyes followed his movement and then quickly looked at the bathroom door. "Look, Harry, erm, I just need some…space. I'm trying to think. I…I'll see you."

"Why?" He burst out, his brow crumpling in frustration. "Why are you avoiding us? You didn't _do_ anything!"

She stared at him, trying to disguise her heavy breathing, and then dodged around him and into the bathroom. He tried to turn, half-heartedly, but she closed the door faster.

_Will it ever go back to normal?_

**Author's Note: Thanks everyone for reading, please review, and if you have any questions or concerns about the story, please ask me and I'll answer them. XD**

**Review review review!**


	7. New Complications

**Disclaimer-If I owned Draco and Hermione, and the entire Harry Potter universe for that matter, I would be J.K Rowling, and I would be brilliant, intelligent, creative, artistic, smart, and a whole bunch of things I'm not, including J.K Rowling.**

Hermione wanted to stay in her room all weekend, but Draco was not going to let her. On Sunday he came over and attacked her door.

"Granger, if you're here, I'm stuck here too. So open the damn door or I'll break it down!" He shouted. A minute passed, and then the door swung open. His eyes widened. Hermione stood there, puffy eyes, hair extremely unkempt, and her pajamas were ruffled.

"Granger, I refuse to be stuck in this dormitory for any longer. I, unlike you, have a social life, and would like to live it. Tackle your hair, shower, and get dressed in something presentable. Now." Draco ordered. For some reason, perhaps because she was in such an unorganized state, she nodded and did what was told.

When Hermione came out she looked much better then before and she and Draco headed to the Great Hall in silence. Everyone she saw on the way sneered at them, even though she had tried to be inconspicuous by wearing her baggiest robes and had a hat pulled low on her head. When they entered the Great Hall she had her arms crossed and her eyes were glued to the floor. Everyone watched her. Hermione had already started going to the Slytherin tables before Draco said anything, so he shrugged and didn't comment.

As they sat down, a Slytherin 5th year hissed, "Look, it's the mudblood slut." The Slytherins chuckled and waited for a sharp retort. None came.

"What's the matter Granger? Potter got you tongue?" Nott jeered.

Hermione only processed the words 'slut' and 'Potter' before she zoned out. The Slytherins glared at her. Insulting her wasn't nearly as fun if she didn't retaliate. Draco saw her face and looked over at the Gryffindor table. Harry, Seamus, Ron, Dean, Lavender, and Parvati were whispering together and looking worriedly at Hermione. Draco felt a pang somewhere in his chest. _I wonder what it's like to have people that genuinely care so much about you. _He shook the thought quickly from his head. _Stupid Gryffindorks and their fuzzy, cuddly love. I would hate to be Granger. _However he knew he was lying to himself. Draco glanced at her and saw that her body was shaking from trying not to cry. He mentally recoiled, he didn't like it when girls cried, and looked away. When he looked up again, he saw Hermione looking longingly at the Gryffindor table. Seamus, Dean, and Ginny laughed at something Neville had done while he blushed, Lavender and Parvati were chatting while looking in a magazine, and Harry and Ron were still whispering to each other. Draco snorted in contempt as the mail arrived. An owl dropped a piece of parchment in the center of the Hall, it split and a piece of paper flew to every person in the hall. Hermione picked up her copy, glanced at it, gasped, and then dropped it.

"Let's go!" She pleaded. Curiosity took over and he grabbed the paper and scanned it.

_We, Lavender and Parvati, have decided it is our duty as students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to report news to our fellow students on our fellow students. So we have written this gossip page._

_Couples._

_Gryffindor_

_Hermione Granger-Seamus Finnegan_

_Ginny Weasley-Dean Thomas_

_Bonnie Clyde-Tom Mitsuki_

_Slytherin_

_No one_

_Hufflepuff_

_Eloise Midgeon-Morag McDougal_

_Ravenclaw_

_Simone Mikloc-Michael Corner_

_This issue is focused on Gryffindor's own, Hermione Granger! On October 4th Hermione had a horrifying nightmare that scared the entire Gryffindor house. Lavender and Parvati awoke to her screams of 'don't leave me' and a very significant name. (We can't tell you, we'd have to kill you.) We carried her down the stairs, they are charmed to keep boys out, _Draco smirked_ and laid her on the couch. Then Lavender banged on their door, the boys' stairs aren't charmed, and Harry answered the door. We explained the situation and he woke up Ron, and Seamus, who, I might add, sleep like logs. Neville was already awake, and before anyone could warn her, Lavender pulled back Dean's bed hangings and discovered he had no clothes on. Everyone dashed downstairs (Dean with clothes on) Harry, Ron, and Seamus put pants on, they sleep in boxers. Very nice bodies I might add, I swear Harry has a six pack! Anyway she was thrashing and screaming, and kicking anyone that came near enough. So she screams 'don't go to You-Know-Who' except she actually said his name! _Draco looked atHermione in surpriseShe was trembling and her hands shook as she read the paper._She also said 'please don't leave me,' and 'I love you.' Lavender and Parvati decided to tell the Gryffindor house the name Hermione said in their dormitory, as they had so thoughtfully gathered there. They did a little scenario of Hermione and her lover, which involved Parvati having a VERY heated snog with Harry! You all wonder what the name was, and as our duty to the public we'll tell you. _

_Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin Prince. _

_Of course she laughed it off, but many of us still wonder what she's hiding._

_We hand these issues out every month._

_Toodles! _

_Lavender Brown & Parvati Patil_

_Xoxoxo_

Draco looked at Hermione in shock. _This must be what Dobby was talking about, her nightmare._

"We wrote it a week and a half ago!" He heard Lavender wail. He saw Harry's beet red glaring face, Dean's even redder furious face, Seamus's annoyed face, and Ron's livid face. Several people laughed as they read it, and some girls looked at Harry with hungry looks. Harry slouched in his seat and tried to look inconspicuous, and Draco snorted. _Six pack? There is nothing six packed about him! _As they finished reading, people shot Hermione confused looks, some even scared.

"You _love _Dracey?" Pansy shrieked from the Gryffindor table and made a move to get up, but Blaise pulled her down. She tried to pout and glare at the same time and the result made her look constipated. Hermione merely shook her head.

"Can we go?" Hermione whispered. Draco nodded. He let her follow him out of the hall, but he wasn't really thinking about where he was going. _She had a dream about me? From the sounds of it, a dream close to real life. _He came to that conclusion as Hermione stopped outside their door.

'We're not going there so you can hide in your room and I can be stuck in there. We're meeting some of the Slytherins in Crabbe's room. Let's go." Draco gave her no say in the matter and went directly to Crabbe's room. He said the password outside a picture of two frolicking kittens and they went inside. All the sixth years that had Slytherin partners were in the corner talking. Draco expected her to go join them. Harry looked up and waved her over. _Finally Granger will leave!_

"Malfoy?" Hermione tugged on his robe sleeve. "Do you mind if I just, erm, follow you around?" Harry looked crestfallen. Draco needed to be back in a healthy, greedy, power hungry, backstabbing Slytherin environment, so he didn't argue.

"Just stay out of my way." Draco said and turned to join in a conversation Blaise and Nott were having about the Slytherin Quidditch team. Hermione was like his shadow, she never left his side.

"Draco I think something bad is going to happen. My father hasn't written and he never writes when there are a lot of meetings." Pansy said hurriedly in Draco's ear, her eyes flickered nervously from him to Hermione and her feelings from breakfast forgotten.

"Granger give us a minute." Draco said and he and Pansy detached themselves from the large Slytherin group.

"Do you know anything about it? Another raid maybe?" Draco asked.

"I don't know, that's why I am asking you. The only letter he has sent says that he's been really busy and might not write for awhile. I know better then to ask for information of course, so I thought you might know, what with what's happening at the end of the year."

"My father hasn't sent me any news, but there isn't much I can do from here anyway." Draco replied and Pansy nodded.

"I'm worried, my father was furious after the Department of Mysteries, I'm afraid they'll plan something stupid and get arrested again. If the Dark Lord hadn't managed to rescue them they'd still be in Azkaban, and my mother wouldn't be able to deal with the stress." Draco nodded; his mother was very fragile, especially with weekly visits from the ministry searching their house. She had to apparate thousands of miles every day to visit her husband who had no love for her, or so it appeared.

"It's too dangerous to send anything by mail, if its intercepted plans would be destroyed and we would be blamed. We have to be careful." Draco said quietly and Pansy sighed. Draco had been over this with her before.

"I know, it's just with my mother's condition I'm not sure she can take much more of this. The healer said a great deal of stress or shock could set off another heart attack." Pansy's eyes were wet but she didn't cry. Draco's father had drilled into his mind that if you're strong, you don't cry. Even the very hormonal and emotional Slytherin girls didn't cry. Or in front of anyone. Draco gave her a tight smile. If they had been alone he _might _have hugged her. But they weren't.

The thing with him and Pansy was that they had been friends for a long time, and for awhile they'd been inseparable. Then puberty hit, and everything changed. She'd been attracted to him suddenly and had no idea what was going on with her. She'd got the wrong ideas from the wrong girls, and basically been morphed into a slut. He'd become a heart throb, and his father had begun lessons on hiding your emotions. He'd been unable to confide in her, and slowly they drifted apart. Sometimes there was a glimpse of their old relationship, usually when they were alone, and it was like they were young and carefree again. Then something would happen and Draco would be whisked away in the blink of an eye and Pansy would once again join the girls that wore too much makeup and too little cloth.

He sometimes wondered if this was the real Pansy, because she seemed so fake in his presence most of the time. He didn't know why she did it, all she got was negative attention.

Draco saw Hermione and Seamus in a corner talking. Seamus waved the other sixth years over and they casually joined the two. Immediately Hermione looked flustered and crowded. She whispered something in Seamus's ear and made a beeline for Draco. A crowd of fourth and fifth years Slytherins came through the door. Blaise was levitating 5 crates of fire whiskey.

"Hey, mate, check it out!" He handed a bottle to Draco. Hermione sniffed disapprovingly and Blaise raised his eyebrows at her.

"Got a problem?" He asked.

"Alcohol is prohibited on the school grounds, besides, you should be setting an example for the younger children." Hermione glared at them.

Blaise shrugged. "Draco and I have been drinking since we were ten." Hermione's jaw dropped. _They have absolutely no parental guidance!_

Draco took a long gulp of his bottle and shoved one into Hermione's hand. She took a hesitant gulp, then another, and another. Blaise watched her, and then he turned to talk to a girl. Music suddenly blasted from a small orb and bodies began to move. Draco took a long swig. It had been a long week.

-

Hermione knew that Harry and Seamus were watching her as Draco gave her a bottle of fire whiskey. Nevertheless she took a gulp. It burned all the way down her throat, but she actually liked it. Someone turned on some music and the Slytherins began to dance. _It's like a club. _The lights were dimmed and the room shook with the force of the music.

"Won't someone hear?" Hermione shouted over the noise.

"The walls have a silencing charm on them!" Blaise answered. _That's smart._ Hermione thought and downed another mouthful. _It's nice to be doing something other then moping. Well I'm not moping, exactly. I'm just…moping. _With each gulp she took her problems ebbed away. She began to sway to the music, only half aware of her carefree smile. Hermione tried to take another gulp and realized with disappointment that she was out.

"Blaise give me more!" She ordered, a slight slur in her words.

Blaise looked at her in surprise. "Look, goody two shoes has already drunken her entire bottle!" Everyone who could hear looked at her as she grabbed another bottle and drank deeply.

-

Harry watched Hermione; she had gotten her second bottle and took a long gulp as she swayed her hips to the music.

"Has Hermione ever drunken alcohol before?" Seamus asked.

Harry shook his head. "She never drank with us; she always stopped Ron before he could drink anything. But maybe she drank with her muggle friends…?" Harry highly doubted it. Hermione was not the kind of girl that went to a bar or a club for a fun night. She was more likely to go to the nearest library and bury herself under massive stacks of books.

"Well some of the Slytherins are already drunk on their second bottle, and they've been drinking their entire lives. Something's not right." Seamus nodded at Crabbe and Goyle, who were dancing in a rather _provocative _way that their bodies didn't seem capable of.

They watched Hermione grab a third bottle and hand one to Draco too. She guzzled some of it down, and then took off her robes. She was wearing a lacy green camisole and hip huggers. A fifth year ran by the group of non-Slytherins, naked.

Hermione danced freely to the music, swaying her entire body. She finished her bottle and threw it away. By chance, it managed to make contact with a very, er, _fragile, _part of the streaker's body. He fell to the floor in pain, and Harry winced.

Blaise handed her another bottle and she took it. Winking suggestively, she led him into the crowd of people and started dancing. The two were lost in a sea of bodies. The song ended quickly and Hermione and Blaise appeared at the edge of the crowd, both gulping from their bottles.

'_Am I throwing' you off?'_

'_Nope.'_

'_Didn't think so.' _

Promiscuous blasted from the little orb and Hermione turned to face Blaise. They were dancing so wildly and provokingly that the Slytherins formed a tight circle around them. The dancers were so involved that they didn't notice the flash of a camera, no one did.

Harry was getting nervous about what could possibly be going on inside the circle of Slytherins, and desperately tried to go through the crowd. When he was pushed away for the fifth time he gave up. Nevertheless, he needed to know what was going on. So he jumped onto a couch and tried to see over everyone's heads.

His jaw dropped. Hermione was_ grinding _against_ Blaise! _Seamus and the girls joined Harry and they gasped. Harry distinctly heard Seamus growl. His eyes were blazing and his jaw was tight. Hermione's back was to Blaise and he ran his hands from her collarbone to her hips.

"Don't do anything stupid!" Harry shouted over the music. Just as Seamus was about to spring, Harry grabbed him and they both tumbled to the ground. Seamus jumped up and with newfound vigor tried to push through the crowd. It wasn't working.

"Oh my god! I had no idea she could do that! Or that it was physically possible!" Lisa Turpin gasped from the couch.

"What?" Seamus cried and raced to the couch. He got there in time to see Hermione and Blaise leaving the dance floor as the song ended. Hermione was sweating so she gulped the rest of her bottle down. Blaise grinned and handed her a fourth bottle.

"We need to get Hermione away from the firewhisky." Padma said and they huddled together to form a plan of action.

-

When Harry walked up to her, Hermione knew she should be feeling upset, if only she could remember why…?

"Mione, I think you should slow down on the drinks." Harry shouted to be heard over the music.

"Why?" She laughed and took another swallow. He was near enough that he could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"You're going to get intoxicated!" He shouted.

"Intoxi-whatey?" She asked, her words were slurred.

He stared for a moment, and then replied, "Drunk!"

She guffawed and waved her hand with the firewhisky dismissively. "Harry, deer, I go to mug cubbles." She frowned. "Muc gubbles, no… muggle clubs, yes! There we go. I go to muggle clubs all the time, and it took me seven drinks to make me intoxiwhatsit."

Harry stared. _Hermione at a club? How many times has she been drink before? _"Aren't clubs with alcohol 18 and up?"

"Harry, have you ever heerd of fake ID?" Hermione waggled her eyebrows at him. 'Me and my friends made it, or we snuck in." Harry gaped.

"You may be wondering why we do that." Hermione went on conversationally. "It's because of you and Ron! You guys always told me I was no fun, so in the summer of fifth yeer I did fun stuff!" She flung out her arms and some firewhisky sloshed out. "It was great! I went skydiving, I went bungee jumping, I went to clubs, I-I swam with sharks! Great white sharks I might add, in just my bikini. I looked very good, I might add. One of them came at me and I dived and then it missed! Actually I did get bitten, on my thigh, a _huge_ bite, it was humongous, ginormous, hugamongous, I might add, it was bleeding like crazy and all the sharks smelled the blood and wanted to eat me! Everyone on the boat saw the blood and thought I was a gonner, but NO!" She took a deep breath, her sentences were getting longer.

"The one that bit me was the biggest one ever! I swam over beside it and it started swimming up so I jumped in its back and when it jumped out of the water I jumped onto the boat and I was alive and everyone was crying and I was famous and they interviewed me, I might add." Everyone was listening to her and they turned the music down a bit.

"No way!" A drunk Pansy cried as she straddled a _very_ drunk Draco.

"Yes way." Hermione nodded vigorously and then turned to Harry. "And it's all thanks to you and ickle Ronniekins!"

"Hermione I am so sorry." He croaked but she had turned away. He wandered back to the group of non Slytherins.

"Are you ok?" Seamus asked. Harry could only shake his head.

"Let's play _strip poker_!" Hermione shouted and began her fifth bottle. There were several cries of agreement and someone conjured up a table and chairs.

First Hermione lost her shirt to Blaise, who in turn lost his pants to an over excited fifth year girl. Everyone wolf whistled as Draco set about removing Hermione's pants. He threw them at Harry and Hermione struck several poses.

Hermione smirked and then stumbled. For some reason her vision was blurred and she really didn't like it. She gulped some more firewhisky but it didn't help. "No, no, no I don't like this." She mumbled.

She stood up straight and took a step towards the edge of the table. She dropped her empty bottle as her vision blurred and she swayed on the spot. The drunken Slytherins seemed to think she was dancing and cheered her on. Hermione plummeted to the floor as she lost her vision.

-

"Wow Harry, you look all whitesh." Hermione giggled and touched Harry's face with her hand.

"Are you alright?" Seamus asked as she sat up.

"Yes, yes. Did I lose poker?" She stood up and looked around feverishly. Seamus caught her before she hit the ground.

"Well, I appear to be half naked in your arms." Hermione stated and Seamus turned puce.

"You passed out." Lisa said.

"Did I? That's kinda funny." Hermione giggled.

"Here," Harry handed her the discarded shirt. "And you should get some pants on."

"You want to get in my pants?" Hermione squealed.

"No!" Harry said forcefully and thrust her jeans at her.

"Harry you've seen me less decent then this! You've seen me naked!" Hermione laughed.

"Hermione can we forget about that?" Harry growled, Lisa, Padma and Susan gasped dramatically. Hermione pulled her pants on backwards so Seamus decided to take pity on her and help. She giggled profusely when he did her pants on and he blushed. She pulled her shirt over her head.

Within ten minutes, Harry managed to get Draco, Hermione, and Blaise to follow him and he carried a passed out Pansy in his arms. He laid Pansy out on the couch and Hermione on the one beside. Then he ordered Blaise and Draco to lie on the floor, and they did, almost immediately falling into a doze. He pulled a chair around to face them, and watched as they slept…


	8. Through the Trap Door

**Through the Trap Door**

**Disclaimer: For Christmas I asked to be J.K Rowling. My parents laughed and told me to be realistic. **

Harry woke up as he heard a groan. Hermione was frowning, in a state of consciousness between sleep and being awake. She looked cold, so he took a blanket from his room and wrapped it around her. Then he saw Pansy and felt guilty. She looked a lot more innocent while she was sleeping. Her face was relaxed and her hair was covering half of her face. So he wrapped her in a blanket as well. Harry felt too much hatred towards Draco to even think about covering him.

"Harry do you hate me?" Hermione asked quietly.

"No, why would you say that?" Harry asked awkwardly.

"Because I'm in love with Seamus." The corners of her mouth turned upwards in a small smile.

"Are you sure Hermione?"

"Yes I'm sure…I think. We're going to be together for a long time." Hermione said. Her eyes were still closed and she her breathing was slow and steady. She was sleeping again.

Harry sighed and stood up straight. Hermione couldn't possibly think that she and Seamus would always be together? Seamus wasn't looking for anything long term, probably no more then a couple months if even that long. Harry used to overhear Dean and Seamus talking about all the girls they'd been with and how far they'd gone with each one, which one was best…Harry couldn't imagine a girl with Hermione's intelligence being talked about like that, if she was going to be with someone, they would have to respect her for everything about her, from her brains to how good she was at being intimate. Harry would make sure that whoever she was with respected her because if they didn't he would beat them up.

Harry sat down on his chair and felt his eyelids becoming heavy. What time was it? He checked his wizards watch that Hermione and Ron and given him for his birthday. It had taken awhile, but he understood it now. It was 11:27 PM. He rested his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes.

**-**

BANG! Harry's body hit the floor with a thud. He sat up quickly and rubbed his pounding head. He'd been dreaming that Hermione and Ron were getting married, and then Seamus had come and killed Hermione for betraying him. Harry had laughed and Ron threw a wine glass at him. Before it had hit his head, he had seen a reflection of himself. Narrow, slitted red eyes, and white skin, before he woke up.

Sunlight streamed through the cracks between a curtained window.

He stood up stiffly and checked his watch. "12:30!" He shouted and shook Hermione quickly.

"Good morning drunkiens." Chester said cheerfully from his portrait. "I must say. This common room is a lot more interesting then young Morag acting like a girl."

"Wherzz the 'mergancy?" Blaise asked groggily and groaned. His hands flew to his head and he lay back down. He cursed under his breath.

"Oww…" Hermione whimpered and closed her eyes.

"Yes, hangovers hurt, don't they?" Chester said. "Next time, control your drinking. You know that I have to report this to your heads."

"No!" Hermione cried and all the Slytherins cursed at her. "You can't tell Professor McGonagall!" Draco sneered.

"Well, I-I am obligated to tell of any disturbances." Chester said sternly.

"Give us all a break." Draco grumbled, "I could bind you to that portrait."

"Well, fine. But if it happens again, they'll be told." Chester mumbled and sidestepped out of his portrait.

"Do you have any hangover potion?" Pansy asked Blaise "I'm don't."

"Nope." Blaise said and they both looked at Draco. He shook his head. Pansy groaned, winced, and then stuffed her head in her pillow.

"I do." Hermione said quietly. Draco cracked open an eye and looked at her. "I'll be right back." She hurried to her room was gone for a few minutes. When she returned she was carrying 4 separate bottles of a milky white potion. She distributed them to each person (excluding Harry) and drank hers quickly.

She grimaced. "It always tastes so bad."

"Always?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow. "As in, you've been drunk before?"

Hermione blushed. "It doesn't matter."

"I'm starving." Blaise complained when he finished looking at her.

"I've never had such a bad hangover, though." She said under her breath.

"Malfoy, let's go." Hermione ordered and turned for the door. Harry was standing there and she almost ran into him. Harry tried to lock eyes but she turned the other way and walked around him.

"Bad luck Potter. You've got a moody-" Hermione didn't hear the rest of Blaise's comment: the door had swung shut behind her.

At lunch (they'd missed the first half of the day) Hermione sat silently at the end of the sixth year table.

Dumbledore stood up and the hall fell silent. "I would like to take this time right now to explain to the rest of the school about the sixth years' behavior this past week. Unfortunately I cannot, because that information is classified, however I can tell you that it was not their choice to how they acted. Please do not hold their actions against them, and try to forgive and forget."

They weren't given much time to think over what he'd said because they had to hurry to transfiguration.

"I must inform you that this weekend you will be attending Hogsmeade with only your partner, there will be no double ups." Professor McGonagall said as she swept into the room and the class groaned. Hermione couldn't imagine anything worse then going to Hogsmeade with Draco, except, well, going alone.

"I was also informed of the need to remind you that alcohol is not permitted in this school, anyone found with it will get one month of detention." She looked around at everyone in the class, but when she looked at Hermione, she had a very disappointed look in her face. _Chester told!_ Hermione lowered her eyes in shame.

"Now, that's enough of this. Today we will attempt to change the color of our eyebrows. I don't expect anyone to accomplish this, nevertheless…Miss Patil do hand out the mirrors will you-there's a good girl." And so their task began.

"You're doing it wrong you know." Hermione said crossly to Draco.

"Goody two shoes." He hissed and she ignored him. "Are all mudbloods like you, or are you a freak accident that happened when your parents got drunk?"

"Sod off, Malfoy." Hermione whispered angrily. Somehow, even when everyone was casting spells, Professor McGonagall's classroom always seemed to be quiet.

"You do know how babies are made, don't you prude?" Draco replied under his breath.

"Yes, and I'm not a prude!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Prove it." Draco looked around the room until his eyes rested on Blaise. "Go kiss Blaise for 30 seconds. I'll be counting."

"No! I have a boyfriend, and that is outrageous behavior!" Hermione waved her wand and her eyebrow turned deep pink.

"But if you didn't, you would kiss him? Looks like Granger has a crush on a Slytherin." Draco taunted. Hermione clenched her teeth together so she wouldn't turn Draco into something she would regret.

"Malfoy, don't talk about things you don't understand." Hermione waved her wand to no effect.

"I understand shagging, shall we discuss that?" He said evilly. "So who was better, Thomas, Zabini, or Potter?" Hermione flinched, and Draco knew he had hit a weak spot.

"Was it Potter? What do you miss? The skin on skin? Or maybe-"

"Shut up you filthy bastar-" Hermione noticed that her voice was above a whisper and stopped halfway through her sentence.

"So you won't admit your deep attraction to Blaise, what about Weasley?" Draco said. "Anyone can see that the fool is in love with you."

"No he doesn't, we're just friends." Hermione's eyebrows narrowed. She wasn't focusing and accidentally set Harry's chair on fire.

"AAARRGGH!" He yelled and jumped up. "Aguamenti!" The fire was quickly put out.

"I'm sorry!" Hermione cried and then glared at Draco.

"Thinking of Potter, are you? Miss the close proximity?" He went on to describe highly vulgar things that Hermione might miss. When he finally started about threesomes between her, Harry and Ron in which she got pregnant and had the baby hidden in her room, her temper blew its top.

She whirled to face him and waved her wand quickly, causing angry boils to appear all over his face and he howled in pain.

"That is quite enough!" Professor McGonagall said sharply. After she had rid Draco of the boils she turned to Hermione, "Detention, be in my office at 8:00. Mr. Malfoy, I think you should come as well. And I'd like to see you after class."

Hermione blushed deeply. "Yes Professor." Draco smirked and she felt the urge to slap him senseless. _I shouldn't have lost control. _The class was as quiet as possible until they were dismissed and Hermione walked shamefaced to the front of the classroom.

"Miss Granger, you know that that kind of behavior is not tolerated in my classroom. Under no circumstances are you ever to do anything like that again, I am very disappointed in you." Professor McGonagall's words cut sharply into her, but she knew that her behavior was inexcusable. Draco Malfoy would pay, eventually.

"I'd also like to know, how is everything with Mr. Malfoy? Things are going better then we saw today, I hope." Professor McGonagall said as she rearranged her desk. Images of turning Draco into an ugly toad flew out of her head.

"Oh, er, I think it's going, fine." Hermione felt disappointed that she had not tried harder, but she couldn't stand that ferret!

"I see." Professor McGonagall studied her for a moment. "Will you be so kind as to get Mr. Malfoy on here?" Hermione grudgingly brought him in.

"Because you two are the best role model prefects, the Headmaster and I have had to consult you on a matter concerning the potion assignment. I don't think you realize how important it is that we keep this secret. Despite the Headmaster's announcement this morning we still do not have a valid excuse. We need some activities that could be fulfilled as well, to further our point that this is for inter-house unity." Hermione had the feeling it wasn't just the need of the cover-up that had Professor McGonagall saying this.

Hermione and Draco thought for a moment, but Hermione couldn't think of anything. Suddenly Draco was hit with an idea.

"We could have Quidditch!" He exclaimed.

"Quidditch?" Professor McGonagall repeated, puzzled.

"Quidditch?" Hermione echoed faintly.

"The sixth years could all be sorted into teams with their partners and have games and practices and everything! Different houses would have to be together and some of the less experienced players could double up with the more experienced players! Everyone would have to cooperate and the school could come out to the games and everything. It wouldn't be real like the real Quidditch, if you won there wouldn't be any points for the house teams, and people would have to be shifted from their original positions if they are on the regular Quidditch teams, but I think it would work out!" It was strange for Hermione to see Draco talking about something he really cared about. He got a gleam in his eye and his features seemed to light up.

She, however, wasn't very excited about the idea. She was terrified of heights, and had discovered it when she had jumped out of a plane thousands of feet about the ground. But she'd done it again, and again and again, because Matt had been so persuasive.

"I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore about this, in the meantime discuss it with a few sixth years and I'll give you a solid answer tonight before your detention." Her fourth year class was filing in so she dismissed the two and they sprinted down the hall to Charms. She sat in her seat beside Draco as Professor Flitwick explained the charm they would be trying, non verbal of course.

Draco explained his idea quickly to Blaise, who looked as though Christmas had come early. Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle listened in and somehow word spread around the classroom.

"Brilliant!" Blaise exclaimed. Hermione could almost understand their passion for the sport, it was the same passion she had for books. She waved her wand and concentrated extremely hard. She managed to change her water into a very weak type of wine, but wine nevertheless.

"Very good Miss Granger! 10 points to Gryffindor!" Professor Flitwick squeaked and looked expectantly at Blaise and Draco, he watched their feeble attempts disapprovingly and assigned them homework.

"Bloody water." Blaise muttered under his breath. It was such a Ron thing to say that Hermione found herself giggling. Blaise looked at her with an expression of utmost perplexity and she forced herself to stop.

The school was buzzing in minutes after they left the Charms classroom with the Quidditch idea, and people expressed their jealousy by feigned indifference. Hermione and Draco were passing the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when Ginny popped out. She stepped in front of Hermione and shifted awkwardly.

"Hermione I wanted to apologize for the things I said, I was out of sorts after the way you were treating the guys in our school and the way Harry responded. I'm sorry, and if you don't accept my apology I'll understand…" Ginny looked into Hermione's eyes and the regret she felt was evident.

"It's alright Ginny," she smiled, it seemed like something was finally going right.

They talked quickly about things like the upcoming Hogsmeade visit and the Quidditch idea until Dean came up behind Ginny, put his hands on her waste and nuzzled her neck. Hermione sensed that their conversation was coming to a close so she said a quick goodbye to Ginny and gave an awkward nod to Dean. She decided to drag Draco away from the curvaceous girl in front of him.

"Malfoy come on." Hermione said impatiently. The girl in front of him had olive skin, gray green eyes, and long straight brown hair. To any male in Hogwarts she was the epitome of beauty. Hermione could plainly see that her straight hair was magically altered for that color, and for the straightness of it. Her skin was also magically altered, and she was wearing color contacts to make her eyes that color. She also had no obvious curves, and no doubt was wearing a bra about three sizes to big.

"Hi, I'm Melinda Christie." She held out a hand and smiled warmly, flashing her obviously spelled pearly whites. "You are, obviously, _the _Hermione Granger, best friend of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, smartest witch in Hogwarts, or so everyone says." She let out a silvery laugh.

Right there, she had named Hermione's social status and reminded her that she was only known because she was somehow connected to Harry and Ron. She had placed Hermione in a situation that clearly reminded her that she did not like her and was in better graces with Draco then Hermione was. Hermione shook the hand out of politeness, though she let the other girl know she was not impressed.

"It's a pleasure." Hermione said crisply and turned to Draco. "We're going to be late, hurry up." Draco gave Melinda a suggestive smile and then followed Hermione as she walked away.

"You know you can't snog her during class, I will not stand outside a broom closet so you and Melinda can get in on in there!" Hermione said stiffly, and blushed in spite of herself.

Draco scowled. "I don't need a bloody reminder, Granger."

"I haven't the faintest why you'd want to snog her anyway." Hermione said as she opened a door and let it swing shut behind her. Draco pulled it open and strode through.

"Granger, she is something you are not and never will be. She's downright sexy" Draco winked as a pretty girl walked by.

"Oh, no doubt you find her appealing now, but I doubt you would if she removed all her spells." Hermione rolled her eyes as Draco gave a girl a look she obviously thought he never gave anyone else.

"Spells? How do you know she used magic?" Draco smirked at Harry and Ron as he and Hermione breezed by. Just to annoy them, he moved closer to Hermione and watched in satisfaction as they both looked as though they'd like to strangle him. Hermione didn't see.

"Three reasons. The first, it's obvious. If you look close enough you see glitches everywhere from her poor spells. The second, I saw her in the library last year reading up on how to magically enhance yourself. I know because she asked me for help. I refused, because magic should not be flaunted to make yourself look better. It should be used for real problems, like destroying Voldemort for good." Draco hissed as she said his name and she shot him a look of pity. "The third, she got in trouble from Professor Flitwick, her head of house.

"So you can magically enhance yourself, eh?" Draco smirked mischievously. "Why don't you Granger? You could go up a couple sizes." He indicated her chest region.

There was a resounding slap and bystanders watched Hermione stalk away from Draco with an expression of utmost fury. He raised his hand to cover the red shape of her hand on his face and hurried to catch up.

-

They entered the Great Hall and Draco strode confidently over to the Slytherin table.

"I'm not sitting with the Slytherins." Hermione said flatly. Draco wheeled around to face her.

"Who are you going to sit with over there?" Draco retorted. "You'll do what I say."

"Bite me." Hermione growled.

"Ooh, kinky Granger." Draco smirked and went over to sit with the Slytherins. Hermione Granger was not one to disobey the rules, so she reluctantly followed him and plopped down beside him on the bench. Shortly after Blaise sat down beside Draco, with Pansy on Blaise's other side. Harry looked like he wanted to sit beside Hermione, but due to circumstances, he took a spot beside Pansy.

"Granger's feeling kinky." Draco said and bit into a ham sandwich. Blaise looked at Hermione's red face and gave Draco his wolf like grin.

"Sod off Malfoy." Harry snapped. His hands were clenched at his sides and he tried to restrain himself from taking out his wand and cursing Malfoy into oblivion.

"Oh, my mistake. I didn't know it was common for people to ask others to bite them. Must be a mudblood thing, they must be closer to animals then I suspected." Draco challenged Harry through his steely eyes. "And did you know, mate, that she fancies you?" He directed this last comment at Blaise.

"Malfoy, I wasn't actually asking you to bite me, got it? I do _not _fancy Blaise." Hermione took a sip of pumpkin juice.

Draco looked at her critically. "If Gryffindors were known for honesty I might have actually believed that. But they aren't. So I feel nothing but pity for my friend here."

"Malfoy, I feel nothing other then revulsion for your 'friend' here." Hermione said, "So piss off."

"Granger, Granger, Granger. The first state of denial is denying your everlasting love for Blaise." Draco said with mock profession. It was almost as though he was teasing her, but anyone listening knew better.

"That makes absolutely no sense." Hermione snapped. "For the last time, I don't fancy Blaise."

"Believe what you will. You don't want to admit it because you know he'd never love a mudblood like you." Suddenly Draco's fork flew out of his hand and the pointy edges started jabbing his noise.

"What the hell!" He exclaimed. Hermione smiled sweetly at him, or sweetly to someone who did not know her. To anyone that did, it was a warning to shut up because you had just pissed off Hermione Granger, and she was going to do something about it.

"I don't think your fork likes you very much, or your knife, or your spoon." Said utensils joined the prodding. "In fact, I don't think any inanimate object in this room likes you. I'd like to set them all on you if I didn't think nearly the entire female population would swarm me. So next time Malfoy, be ready because I am not a pushover, and if they find your body, well I'd be happy to point them in a different direction. Are we clear?" She said in an undertone. Draco nodded quickly.

"Good." She smiled innocently and stood up. She wasn't completely serious, she would do _something, _just not kill him. However she was serious enough for Draco. Harry beamed proudly up at her as she walked away.

"Did she just threaten me?" Draco turned to look at Blaise; he nodded and burst out laughing. Draco stormed after Hermione.

He was not afraid her! How dare she threaten and make him look stupid! He rounded the corner and saw her standing with Seamus, who was whispering things into her ear. He strode forward, pushed Seamus away, grabbed Hermione's elbow, and pulled her along. How did that guy always manage to pop up _everywhere_?

He had to admit, she put up a good fight, kicking, screaming and cursing him. But he was stronger, so she had no chance of escaping, especially since he was still infuriated by her.

-

At twenty minutes to eight they began walking to detention in an angry silence. Hermione had her arms crossed and a frown on her face while Draco pretended cool indifference but his blazing eyes showed his feelings of hate towards the girl beside him. Not that they were actually beside each other, they were as far apart as the walls would let them be.

"I'm skipping the first class tomorrow; I need to have some free time." Draco said, almost to himself, because he didn't acknowledge Hermione's presence.

"No. I will not skip a class so that you can do whatever you want with _Melinda._" Hermione said scornfully. "I've already missed too much school."

Draco scowled. "I used to have that as a free period, and now I have to learn about filthy muggles. My father would-"

"I don't care what your father would do or say!" Hermione snapped. "In case you hadn't noticed, he'd be seen and put back in Azkaban, the wizard's prison? Obviously your pathetic little excuse doesn't work anymore, find a new one." Draco flinched at the truth behind her words.

"Don't ever," he pushed her against the wall and pinned her arms to her sides, "talk about my father that way again or I'll kill you." Fear flashed across Hermione's face. Draco was so close he could see light flickering in Hermione's eyes. And then determination filled every crevice of her face.

She pushed on his chest with all her might. He fell back a few steps, and she took them in a stride.

"Malfoy I assure you, nothing could be worse then seeing your face every day and knowing that the next day I'd see it again and again. Not even death, so you could try, but you and I both know who would be superior. And it wouldn't be the egotistic prat that calls himself a human being." She gave him the best smirk she could muster and walked away.

_What is up with her today? She keeps flipping out at me. It must be one of _those_ days. Yes, that's it, she's just in an over-emotional state._ With that conclusion in mind he set off after her.

_-_

"You'll be pleased to know that I have consulted Professor Dumbledore and he has agreed with your Quidditch idea." Hermione's heart sank. "I ask that you two make up a list of rules and teams. A captain on each team, and pair the inexperienced players with the ones from the house Quidditch teams."

She surveyed the two through her glasses. "For detention this evening you two will be cleaning the third floor corridor without magic." Hermione's eyes widened. "'Fluffy' has been removed, it is currently empty. However, it will soon be used for something so it is necessary to have it cleaned."

Draco's mouth dropped open in horror. "You can't possibly expect me to do that!"

"Wands, please." Professor McGonagall held out her hand and Hermione handed her wand over. Draco hesitated, and then handed his over too. He felt like he was stripped bare. She led them out into the hall and conjured two buckets of soapy water. Then she turned on her heel and left them standing there.

Hermione picked one of the buckets up and waited for Draco to lift the other, he didn't, so with an exasperated huff she grabbed it and marched down the hall. (With great difficulty, the buckets were heavy.)

"You could help!" She grunted. He shrugged but his reply was drowned out as Peeves flew overhead singing about Professor Snape.

'_He's slimy and greasy and evil and mean,_

_his name is Sevy and he's not very clean,_

_everyone hates him, they call him a sucker,_

_we all know he's a mother . . .' _

They reached the third floor corridor and Draco pushed open the door. The last time Hermione had been in there, it had been inhabited by Fluffy, the giant three headed dog, and they had been preparing to fight Professor Snape with a years worth of magical knowledge. However only Harry had made it that far, and had met not Snape, but Quirrell, who happened to have Voldemort stuck to the back of his head.

There were torches on the wall, giving the room a damp glow. The air was stale and dry, and Hermione thought it would have been more welcoming if Fluffy had been in there. Maybe not. She set down the buckets and picked up a sponge. Draco watched her scrub endlessly at a particularly grimy spot, it wasn't going away. Instead of giving up and working on another one, she scrubbed harder, until you saw that the original color of the room was a nice cream and beige mixture. She smiled in satisfaction, and then realized Draco wasn't helping her and turned around to face him, hands on her hips and a glare set on her face. She was the spitting image of Mr.Weasley, and would have sent even the Weasley twins running for cover. However, Draco didn't know of Mrs. Weasley's terrifying fury, so he didn't take it as a warning sign.

"A little assistance would be nice." She said.

"I told you, this is servant's work, and since you are about that status, well actually your lower, at least my servant's are better looking then you and probably make more money then you ever will, you should do it." Draco matched her glare for glare, eye for eye. Her eyes blazed. Draco was almost overwhelmed, but her gaze began to waver, and then she looked to the floor. Draco knew that his father had trained for years to be able to express the amount of his power behind his eyes, and it was less then hers. She didn't even know of it, she could probably send a man like Professor Snape cowering in shadows if she knew how to use it… But she didn't, so all the better for him.

She went back to washing the walls with a 'humph!' and Draco looked around with disinterest. He noticed a trap door and curiously walked over to examine it. With a great deal of effort, which is saying something because of the muscles he accumulated from Quidditch, he managed to get it open.

Hermione heard it creak as it opened and her head shot up. "Malfoy don't!" She cried, real panic in her voice as she darted over to him. She ran over and pulled on his arm, but he shifted his weight while she pulled so that somehow he managed to pull her in front of him on the edge of the cavernous hole.

"Why? Haven't you and the Dreamers been down there?" Draco laughed at Hermione's obvious fear. If he let her go she would plunge to an utmost certain death. He obviously wasn't planning on dropping her, but she didn't seem to realize that. Hermione tried to get better footing on the edge and Draco's grip was weakened. It happened as though in slow motion.

Her eyes widened as she clawed at the air and began to fall. Her hair flew into her face and she screamed. Then Draco couldn't see her anymore.

"Devil's Sna…" echoed in the room. Draco stared down in shock. _Damn, Granger just fell!_

_Devil's Snape? That doesn't make much sense. Sounds like Devil's Snare._ Draco chuckled, and then his eyes widened. He did something both very brave and extremely stupid. He jumped in after her.

_-_

Hermione landed with a thud on a familiar plant she had seen nearly five years before. Before she could jump up and run to the wall, a snake like tendril wrapped around her right ankle. She stood up with difficulty and struggled to get away, but she couldn't move. She was going to die there…

Suddenly a black blob with a platinum blond head landed a few feet away from her. _He came after me…_ He looked in shock at the vine attached to her ankle that was crawling up her leg. Her legs were forced together and she fell to the ground.

"Go!" She shouted. "To the wall!" He looked past her to a cement wall and door. He tried to stand but the plant had wrapped around his waist and held him down.

Draco swore loudly. "How do we get out?" He had too much to live for to die! Why the hell had he jumped down after her?

"I don't know!" Hermione cried, and looked like she was scanning her brain for a piece of information.

"Weren't you down here with Potter and Weasel? The whole school heard about it! You saved them countless times and won your house fifty points!" Draco tried to stay calm. There were so many people he hadn't scared; his future was no longer written in stone. For some reason he felt free. If he was going to die, his father couldn't make him do things against his will.

"We had wands then! I used a spell to create fire!" She looked around desperately. "Don't move too much! It will only kill you faster." She snapped. _I never told Harry and Ron how much I appreciate and love them…they think I'm mad at them…_Her thoughts were interrupted when a tendril wrapped around her chest and her arms were pinned to her side.

Draco watched Hermione remain still as she was constricted with fascination. _How can she be so calm? _Her eyes blazed with the same power as they had when she had glared at him. The he realized it. _She won't panic because she doesn't want to die losing her head. No one would know, and she is being everything a Gryffindor is supposed to be. Is that what Potter was doing as he faced the Dark Lord? Was he as calm? _

Draco thought he had a way, but she couldn't see him using it…a vine wrapped around his neck and he decided quickly. He looked at Hermione. "Close your eyes!" He felt something in the pit of his stomach… It was respect. She closed her eyes, and she looked like she was already dead.

His windpipe was being cut off slowly, so he sprang into action. He wiggled a hand into the pocket of his robes and took a small crystal from it and held it in front of him. It shimmered, even in the damp darkness.

_-_**FLASHBACK**_-_

"_You see Draco, a true Malfoy can always use this when they are in danger." Lucius said and held out a crystal. It was the most beautiful thing Draco had ever seen, but it set terror into his heart. He pulled his cool difference face on and Lucius nodded approvingly._

"_Do you know what makes a true Malfoy?" Lucius asked, and Draco shook his head, as was expected of him._

"_You must want power more then anything else in the world, and you must be willing to do anything to get it. You must know and believe that muggles and mudbloods will all be dead one day. You must want to help destroy them. You must know that one day you will serve the Dark Lord. You must realize it is your destiny. You must only love a pureblood. Never anything impure." _

_Draco nodded, he already knew all that._

"_By blowing on this crystal whatever you need will appear but no muggles or mudbloods can ever see you use it. Do you understand?"_

"_Yes, Father." Draco said submissively._

"_One of the makers added something; they were going soft, so some of them glow when you around someone you love. They couldn't figure out which ones were like that, and the man was killed too soon to torture him. It's very juvenile of them, but I don't think this one is impaired by that defect." Lucius nodded at his son and gave him the crystal. Draco felt the power flow into his blood, claiming the crystal as his._

_-_**ENDOFFLASHBACK**_-_

Draco drew in as big of a breath as he could and blew out onto the crystal. It lit up and pain erupted in the back of his eyes, they were burning, he was on fire… He opened them and saw nothing, then he fainted.

_-_

Hermione heard Draco scream, the plant's grip loosened, and then the tendrils slunk away. She regained her breath, and opened her eyes. Draco lay slumped over three feet away, his hand clenched around something.

"Malfoy?" She whispered. "Malfoy?" She decided not to wait around to find out if the plant was going to attack them again, so she attempted to drag Draco over to the wall. With much effort she got him to the wall, and on a platform the plant wasn't on. Unfortunately she ripped Draco's shirt and his robes came off, leaving him in a pair of jeans, and a ripped t-shirt. She pulled it over a put it on his chest, partly to hide the cut he had there, and she didn't want to see his bare chest. His hand wouldn't unclench on whatever he was holding, so she leaned against the wall and soon drifted into a sleep. Her last thought was how could she be falling asleep in the same room a Devil's Snare? Then she fell onto Draco.

-

Tuesday

When Hermione woke up she registered that she had her head rested on Draco Malfoy's chest, and one of his arms was around her. Heat rushed to her cheeks and she looked around quickly. There were white hospital wing with curtains drawn around them. Hermione didn't want to move, for fear that Draco would wake up and find them in that position. She succeeded in gently moving his arm and moving to her knees, however the shift of balance unsettled her and she fell onto Draco's chest. He woke with a start and blinked several times, shook his head and blinked again.

"Hello?" His voice was scratchy, and Hermione noticed there was a bruise around his neck.

"Sorry Malfoy, I was, er, trying to, er, wake you." Hermione stammered. There was no reason for her to be fully on his bed as she tried to wake him, but he seemed a little distracted.

"G-Granger?"

Hermione sighed. "Yes, Malfoy, I do look like this, I don't have a twin or a clone. I'm not sure what happened though."

"Where are you?" Draco whispered, his eyes wildly spun in their sockets.

"Right here…"Hermione said slowly. "What's wrong?" She waved her hand in front of his face, annoyed. He didn't seem to notice.

"Granger, I-I can't see you." Draco's voice was higher then usual.

"Malfoy, that's not funny, stop being a prick."

"What did you do to me? What spell? Fix it, n-now." Hermione frowned. He actually sounded very scared. She looked closer, and realized what was wrong with a start. His eyes were no longer steel grey, they were a cloudy blue.

"Oh Merlin." Hermione whispered, horrified. "Malfoy, you're blind."

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed!!!!!**

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	9. I Would Rather Have Died

**A/N Thanks to **Natsunohinagiku **for picking out a mistake in the last chapter that I didn't realize was there, I fixed it, and thank you!**

**Disclaimer-I don't own Harry Potter. Besides, no one would even believe me if I said I did anyway.**

**I Would Rather Have Died**

Draco went into hysterics and Madame Pomfrey came rushing over. After a calming draught he was finally under control and Madame Pomfrey checked him over.

"So it seems you are, indeed, blind. But it isn't permanent." Madame Pomfrey said after she saw Hermione's stricken expression. She made Hermione sit in a chair beside Draco's bed, and then she disappeared into her office.

A few minutes later Professor Snape hurried through the door, followed by Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore. All three questioned Draco and did tests, and they all came to the same conclusion; he was blind, not permanently, but they didn't know for how long.

"I'm crippled for life!" Draco cried. "Not permanently could mean until I'm 85, or the day before I die!"

"You could have died today! Be glad you're still breathing." Hermione snapped. She was tired of his whining.

"I would rather have died. I can't play Quidditch without any eyesight!" Draco said crossly.

"Why is Quidditch so important to everyone? You sit on broomsticks and chase little balls while trying to score on a little hoop. Why do you put it over your health?" Hermione said irritably.

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I think it would be best if Miss Granger led Mr. Malfoy around the school. He could hold one end of a rope, and she could hold the other."

"She'll let go of the rope and leave me there." Malfoy said flatly.

"Miss Granger is a Head and will act responsibly." Professor McGonagall said, more to Hermione then Draco.

"Sure." Draco said grumpily, determined to let everyone know exactly how angry he was. "Isn't there some sort of potion?"

Professor Snape opened his mouth, but Professor Dumbledore interrupted him. "No, unfortunately there is not." Hermione looked in surprise at her Headmaster. That had been a downright lie. She knew that there was a potion; she had seen it while riffling through pages of Most Potente Potions in her second year when they had been preparing to make the Polyjuice potion.

-

Later on in the day, around dinner Harry and Ron forced their way into the Hospital Wing.

"Fine! You have five minutes!" Madame Pomfrey snapped and then, once again, disappeared into her office.

"Hermione…" Harry and Ron stood awkwardly at the edge of the bed she was lounging on. Draco's bed had curtains around it so no one could see him.

"It's alright, I was stupid." Hermione smiled apologetically and set her book on the table beside her bed. She sat on the edge and faced them. "The events of yesterday made me realize that I can't go on telling myself that you two are mad at me, because one day something awful is going to happen to one of us and then I'll regret that I have been acting so ridiculous."

"Hermione, you know we're rubbish at this feelings thing, but I don't see why you thought we'd hate you."

"I guess that everyone just has this image of Hermione Granger, you know? She's best friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, clever, teacher's pet, innocent, and conservative. I thought people would reject me because they would think that if I wanted to I could change everything about myself. I thought you two would figure I'd be different now or that I… I don't even really understand myself, I am pretty good at convincing myself to think a certain way." She gave a dry laugh.

"Hermione, from what Harry told me about yesterday, you are not innocent. You threatened Malfoy with a fork!" Ron laughed and Hermione blushed. "That's brilliant."

"We've known you for five years, and you haven't changed once, well, mentally anyway." Ron said and then his ears turned red. "I-I mean, you got taller, and, er…"

Hermione enveloped them both in a hug and smiled happily at them. "Thanks guys." Harry looked so relieved it made Hermione's heart swell in her chest with affection for the two boys. (Though his relief could have been due to her releasing them from the embrace. "Where are your partners?"

"We made them wait outside. Where's Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"Erm, he's sleeping." Hermione said awkwardly not sure why she was keeping the fact that he was blind from them.

"So what did Seamus say when he visited you?" Harry asked.

"What?" Hermione asked, confused. "Seamus didn't visit me."

"Oh…" Ron and Harry exchanged a look. "He said he did."

Hermione frowned. "I must have been asleep. If you see him tell him I'm awake now." She smiled brightly and Ron's face darkened.

"Right, Seamus, sure." Harry said and Madame Pomfrey's head poked around her door.

"Five minutes has passed! Out!" She snapped and shooed them out the door. Ron shot Hermione one last smile before the door closed.

_-_

Hermione led Draco to their Common Room, making sure to go the long way so everyone in Hogwarts could see Draco being led around by a rope. As they stepped into their Common Room, Blaise, Harry, and Pansy looked up and stared. Harry and Blaise burst out laughing and Hermione was faintly reminded of Ron and Harry laughing together.

"This isn't a joke." Hermione said softly as their laughter died down. "Malfoy, is…well, he's blind." She said the last part in a rush.

"WHAT?"

"HOW?"

"BRILLIANT!"

"Shut up Potter!" Malfoy growled and started for Harry's voice. He tripped on the edge of a sofa and fell onto the ground, pulling Hermione down with him. Blaise roared with laughter as Pansy and Harry jumped up to help up their housemate.

"Watch it Zabini, Slytherin can't afford to lose another Quidditch player." Hermione snapped and thanked Harry for helping her up.

Blaise immediately sobered. "What? No Quidditch?"

"Blaise, do you honestly think I'm going to climb on a broomstick, soar hundreds of feet in the air and look for the snitch while I can't see anything?" Draco growled.

"But…What did Granger do?" Pansy asked.

"I looked at her." Draco smirked. _Amazing. _Hermione thought._ Even when he might not ever see again he's trying to insult me. Amazing. _

"Sod off Malfoy!" Harry snapped. Then he turned to Hermione, and said more pleasantly. "What happened?"

Hermione explained as best as she could, describing what had happened while her eyes were closed was difficult, so she told them (the Slytherins were all listening) that she had heard Draco's screams and that the Devil's Snare had retreated.

"So it's still there…" Harry said quietly. "I can't help but remember the first time, we were there, and you said there was no wood to make a fire…" He snorted with laughter and she laughed a little.

"She wasn't panicking this time. She was being a damn Gryffindor." Draco grumbled. Blaise looked at Hermione with curiosity.

Hermione and Harry talked quietly about what Draco could possibly have done while her eyes were closed, and then she went to bed. It was only 7:30, but she felt so exhausted. She'd heard Madame Pomfrey saying something about spores the Devil's Snare released that would make you sleep easily, and let your senses dull.

_She was running along a deserted corridor and then she saw a boy with platinum blonde and a smirk on his face. He stuck out his leg and she went sprawling on the floor. He grinned maniacally at her and took out his wand. She screamed. His face slowly morphed into Lucius Malfoy and then the Dark Mark._

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Hermione woke up drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. She'd thought the dream at the beginning of the year had been a one time thing due to her nerves on the whole Draco and the initiation thing. She pulled herself out of bed and went to take a shower. The hot water loosened her muscles and relaxed her nicely. She knew it was not going to be a very good day, Draco would probably complain all day, the Slytherins would probably shoot her dirty looks and the Gryffindors would probably tell her a bunch of nasty things about Draco.

The first of Hermione's predictions came true when every Gryffindor in the hall told her that 'Malfoy was an evil git and that his overstuffed ego could use some deflating.' Well that's how Hermione would have worded it; they said something that _sounded _like they meant that, just with more expressive words.

Lessons were unbearable, Draco complained about everything, and made her do all his work. Every time someone brought up Quidditch the Slytherins would simultaneously turn and glare at her while Draco whined about never being able to fly again. He was their best player, and captain, so it made sense they would be mad, if Harry had been unable to play, the Gryffindors were furious, but the difference was, the Slytherins were mad at _her. _

It was probably due to the fact that almost all the students in Hogwarts, however delighted they were about Draco's _condition_, as Hermione preferred to call it, all blamed the person that had been there, because no one really knew what had happened. So as she walked by, leading Draco, people whispered about how she had gouged out his eyes, which made no sense because his eyes were still perfectly intact inside his skull.

After dinner that night, Hermione pulled Draco off to the side where no one could hear them. He must have noticed the chatter was gone, because he planted his feet and demanded to know where the hell she was taking him.

Hermione got down to business quickly. "I have an idea that could help you."

"Help me what?"

"Help you with your condition you prat!" Hermione snapped. How could he be so stupid sometimes? Comprehension dawned his features. "There's a potion that I think I'd be able to pull off."

"Dumbledore said there was no potion." Draco said flatly.

"Well I know for a fact that there is. In saw it in my second year, it was in Most Potente Potions."

Hermione thought back to when she, Harry, and Ron had made a Polyjuice potion because they had thought Draco was the heir of Slytherin.

"Most Potente Potions?" Draco frowned. "Isn't that in the restricted section? And what did you need it for in our second Year?"

Hermione blushed. "Well, yes it is in the restricted section, but I think we-well _you_ could get a signature from Professor Snape." She chose to ignore his last question.

Draco nodded. "So we should go find Snape then." They set off towards the dungeon and found Professor Snape in his office.

"Erm, Professor, can we talk to you?" Hermione asked and poked her head around the door.

He looked up and (after seeing Draco) said, "Very well. Come in."

"Professor,' Draco began as Hermione led him to Professor Snape's desk, "I need a book from the library so that I can research a lot further into the art of potions, I've been thinking of a potions professor as a career."

Professor Snape's lip curled. "I'm sure Miss Granger will escort you to the library."

Draco nodded, "But Professor, the thing is, this book I need is in the restricted section. But I really think that it would help me grasp some subjects I didn't quite understand before, and that it would show me if I am really considering this as a career path or if I just show a particular interest in something. Because, it's been in my family line for generations, having an aptitude for potions, I just may be the first Malfoy to pursue it as-"

"Draco," Professor Snape raised an eyebrow, "you can't read."

Draco seemed at loss for words, so Hermione answered for him. "Professor, you mustn't say such things! You yourself said it wasn't permanent, and can't you see that he's trying to think about his future? Never give up hope! Did Harry give up hope when he was facing Voldemort? Did Dumbledore give up hope when Harry's name was drawn from the Goblet of Fire? Malfoy will not give up hope, his eyesight will come back, and he will become a potions professor! I'll read him the damn book if I have to." Professor Snape looked surprised to say the least, and Draco looked confused. Maybe she'd gone a little overboard.

Slowly, Professor Snape took a piece of parchment from his desk and signed it. Then he handed it to Hermione and went back to marking someone's assignment. She left his office in high spirits.

"I didn't know you felt so strongly about me, Granger." Draco smirked.

Hermione scowled. "Watch it Malfoy, or I'll attach this rope to a troll and let you follow it around until it eats you."

"And then your filthy Gryffindor conscience will catch up to you and you'll live the rest of your life feeling guilty about the fact that you killed the best looking guy in Hogwarts." Draco smirked. Hermione dropped the rope and kept walking. Then she thought of the Order's dependence on her and went back to pick it up. Draco hadn't seen anything, so he merely waited until she tugged on the rope again. The Order was counting on her, and she'd try her hardest, even if it killed her. Which it probably would.

Twenty minutes later they left the library, Hermione clutching the book to her chest.

"Shall we begin tonight?" Draco asked, as eager as anyone else would be to get their eyesight back.

Hermione nodded. Then she realized he couldn't see, so she replied, "Yes, tonight." There was a whole new meaning to the word.

_-_

The two waited until everyone else had gone to bed before Hermione eagerly opened the book and scanned the index. She turned to page 45 and quickly read the ingredients list.

"It says here that it could destroy your eyesight for good if there is so much as a slight mistake." Hermione said uneasily. This was probably why Professor Dumbledore had said there wasn't a potion; he didn't want to get Draco's hopes up. But Professor Snape could have made it, he was, after all, an amazing potion brewer.

"I'll take the chance." Draco said in a confident voice. Hermione strongly suspected it was because he also thought there was a very little chance that she would make a mistake, which only loaded on the pressure.

"Ok, well we can start it tonight, but we only have the basic ingredients." Hermione began. "I can sneak into Professor Snape's personal stores tomorrow and grab the rest. Then we'll be all set. It shouldn't be too hard." She took a quill and parchment and scribbled down the ingredients onto it.

Draco looked confused. "I don't get it, why do you care if I get my eyesight back? Why go to such lengths?"

Hermione snorted. "Malfoy, these _lengths_ aren't very lengthily, sneaking into Professor Snape's store isn't as hard as everyone seems to think. All you need is a distraction."

He was suddenly reminded of when Goyle's potion had exploded in their second year. And then he remembered not seeing Hermione there, and her saying she took out Most Potente Potions out, all in that year. If she needed the book, no doubt there would be ingredients in it that she would need from Professor Snape's private stores.

"You…you set up a distraction in our second year and snuck into Snape's private stores…tricky Granger, very tricky." Draco smirked. Hermione blushed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said stubbornly.

"Granger, I know, don't try to feign innocence. Besides, if you can think up another distraction of some sort, and it helps to get the ingredients, it doesn't matter." Draco said. "You still haven't really answered my question. Why?"

Hermione answered in almost a whisper. "Because you came after me." Before Draco could say anything (not that he could think of anything intelligent to say) she hurried into the Potions room. The rope reached its limit and Draco carefully followed her.

"Granger, I did it to save my skin more then to save yours, think of everything I'd have to go through, people would think I murdered you!" He waited for a response, because he'd accidentally dropped the stupid thing Hermione was leading him around with, and he wasn't going to scrounge around on the floor for it.

She said nothing, but he heard movement, and started towards it. Something metal caught on his leg and he went crashing to the floor, bringing whatever he had tripped on with him. There was a huge shattering sound and something cut across his cheek.

Gentle hands helped him up. "There goes my cauldron." Draco shook Hermione's hands away roughly, he didn't need any of her bloody Gryffindor kindness.

Hermione sighed. "You have a big gash in the side of your cheek. Don't worry, though, I can fix it." Draco felt a warmth flow over his skin and the dull throb in his cheek ceased.

"There, good as new." Hermione ran a finger over Draco's flawless skin. Then she wrenched her hand away, realizing the intimate gesture she had just done.

"Granger, however much you love me, you must control yourself, we would never work out." Draco smirked, knowing without seeing that she was blushing.

"Don't flatter yourself, Ferret." Hermione said and turned away. "Even if I used reparo I don't think my cauldron is safe to use, we'll have to use yours." Draco didn't say anything.

She worked diligently for an hour. Her hair was getting bushier, her face was flushed, and the heat was making her sweat. Not that Draco could see.

At last she leaned back with a sigh. "That's all I can do for now, we need boomslang skin, Auricotta juice, and lacewings. I'll have to get it tomorrow during lunch." Hermione said.

"Won't someone notice you're gone?" Draco asked drowsily.

"I'll have to use the loo, so everyone will know where they think I am. Then we'll just have to go to his stores and grab the ingredients." She ran over the fine details in her head, and when she turned around Draco was asleep against the wall. She went and sat down beside him. If she woke him up, he'd probably attack her, and if he woke up alone in the middle of the night he'd probably wake the entire school up. Feeling slightly harassed that she had to watch him, she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

_-_

Hermione woke up as someone prodded her shoulder. Her eyes flickered open and chocolate brown met emerald green.

"Morning. I thought I'd wake you up, class starts in five minutes." Harry grinned, and looked like he'd accomplished something.

"Five minutes? Hermione yelped and jumped up. "MALFOY!" She turned to the door and saw him leaning casually on the doorframe and talking to Blaise.

He turned to look at her. "Some people actually wake up, Granger. Blaise was so kind as to not leave me stranded." He flicked the rope in his hands to her and she caught it. "We all know what a shame it would be to miss class, so hurry up."

They left in a hurry, though they could only go so fast. Their professor didn't seem to, or chose to ignore, that they arrived in class late.

It seemed as though things were going in slow motion and when they finally got to lunch Hermione gulped down her food.

"The library?" Harry asked as he watched her devour a sandwich.

"I, er, you know I missed breakfast." She replied after swallowing. "Well, I have to use the loo before the next class, so I'll be right back." She stood up abruptly and pulled Draco out of the hall with her, a goblet of pumpkin juice still clutched in his hand.

He dropped on the floor with a clatter and Hermione hissed, "Do you want to be caught? You just attracted attention to us." Her pace quickened.

The air got cooler as Draco took more and more steps, and he knew they were getting closer to their destination. She warned him when the reached a set of stairs so he didn't fall down, but was otherwise silent.

"Ok, stop." Hermione whispered. "I'll be out in a few minutes, and we should have lots of time while everyone else is in the Great Hall." She slipped into the classroom and hurried to the door that led into Professor Snape's personal supplies room. The door squeaked open and she hurried around, collecting the right amount of each ingredient. Then she hurried out and closed the door.

"-dn't see you there." Draco's voice carried across the classroom. "Obviously."

"Draco, what are you doing here?" The unmistakable voice of Professor Snape asked.

"Granger, er, forgot her quill and made me come with her to get it. You know how girls get." Draco was warning her to get out. She fished in her pocket for a quill, but could find nothing of the sort. She hadn't brought her bag, and the classroom was empty.

Frantically, Hermione looked around for anything that would give her an excuse, and found nothing. She ran for the door to get as far away as possible from the real reason she was there. Her foot made contact with the leg of a desk and she fell to the floor. Pain shot up her leg as her ankle twisted around at the same moment Professor Snape entered the room. Draco felt his way in, but didn't let go of the doorframe.

She hurried to stand and held on to the desk beside her for support. Her eyes were slowly filling with tears from the pain.

"Miss Granger what are you doing in my classroom?" Professor Snape's lip curled.

"I w-was looking for m-my q-quill, I left it h-here this m-morning." Hermione fought to control her breathing and stop the tears that began to fall.

"I see, and this quill is so important that you would cry over it?" Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. Draco's eyebrows shot up and disappeared in his hairline.

"But this quill w-was given to me by V-Viktor K-Krum." Hermione closed her eyes as tears slid down her cheeks. She actually did have a quill from him, it was the feather from an exotic Bulgarian bird, and was no doubt expensive. It was just up in her room.

"I see." His eyes scanned the room and rested on the door to his private stores. Hermione's heart dropped from her chest. It was open an inch, he would be sure to notice and they would be caught. Something flickered in his eyes, was it satisfaction? "I think you had better leave Miss Granger."

She stared in shock at him. He had no doubt realized that they had been in his private stores, yet he had said nothing. That was not normal. Unless he had been told specifically not to say anything if someone had been in them, perhaps by someone who had no doubt she would know there was a potion and would want to help Draco… Then there was the potion assignment. It was not a coincidence that she had just agreed to help the Order, and then was forced to live with Draco. Everything pointed to one direction, someone was meddling.

"Miss Granger, if you please?" Professor Snape drawled, gesturing to the door. She straightened and walked with as much dignity as she could out the door, restraining from crying out with difficulty. As soon as the door closed she collapsed against the wall.

"That was brilliant, pretending to cry like that." Draco said, and then quickly added, "For a mudblood." He was pretty impressed, who knew Hermione could act? She'd actually sounded like she as going to burst into tears.

Hermione breathed deeply and put pressure on her ankle. She gasped as pain sent a shock up her leg. It was already swelling up a bit, and she wouldn't make it if she tried to walk to the Hospital Wing. The bell rang and she knew people would soon be coming down for their potions class.

"Malfoy, could you," she gritted her teeth, "get the first person that's down here to help me get to the Hospital Wing, you'll need someone to help you too." She sank to the floor and spread her leg out in front of her, she needed to keep it elevated.

"Why? Merlin Granger, how could mess something as simple as getting potion ingredients?"

"Malfoy," she hesitated, knowing she would regret it. "Please."

Draco could sense something was wrong, but he didn't know what. "What did you do?"

"My ankle, I twisted it around. As far as I can tell, it's badly sprained." Her voice shook.

Draco frowned, hadn't he heard her say to Madame Pomfrey something about her becoming a healer once? "Can't you fix it yourself? I thought you wanted to be a healer?"

"Well, yes, but… What if I really mess it up? Remember Harry's arm in our second year?" Hermione said. The last thing she needed was to mess it up more.

"Yeah, that was brilliant." He grinned as he remembered Harry's rubber arm, the memory still made him laugh. "But as much as I hate to admit it, you're a better witch then Lockhart was a wizard, so just do it." Anything to get her to fix it and they could leave.

"Well I-I suppose I could try…" She took her wand out and muttered a quick variation of _reparo_, only with more complicated wand movements and a lot more complex theory. Warmth spread through her ankle and the pain lessened. There was still some though, so she conjured up a splint to go on the bottom of her foot and wrapped a bandage around her ankle. With that on, she could walk if she didn't put too much weight on her foot.

As they slowly made their way up the dungeons Draco chuckled. "I actually did think you had a quill from Krum."

"I do, but it's very nice so I don't bring it to classes." Hermione replied and smiled at a group of fourth years as they watched her uneven gait.

"When were _you _acquainted with Krum?" Draco snorted, the idea seemed preposterous.

"Not that it's any of your business but he took me to the Yule Ball in our fourth year, and I've seen him over the summer. We write letters." She rolled her eyes.

Draco remembered. She had been the beautiful girl Pansy had been goggling at all night, though she didn't recognize her because no one had thought of Hermione immediately after they saw her. "I can't believe Krum took you."

"Well Vikto_r _did."

"Krum's standards are sinking."

"Vikto_r _knows what's important, and what's not, like being muggleborn."

"_Krum_ must have been drunk."

"_Viktor_ is not a big drinker."

"Well then _Krum_ is out of his mind."

"_Viktor_ is perfectly sane."

"Did you use a love potion on _Krum_, then?"

"_Viktor_ came to me, not I to him!"

"Maybe _Krum_ was on a dare."

"_Viktor_ doesn't believe in that game!"

"Stop calling him that."

"His name is _Viktor_, so I'll call him that."

"_Krum_."

"_Viktor_."

"_Krum_."

"_Viktor_."

"_Krum_." Another bell rang, signaling to anyone that wasn't in their class they were late and their argument was put on pause. Hermione quickened her pace, they were almost there. They hurried inside, and their teacher ignored their absence, assuming it had something to do with Draco's inability to see.

They set the potion to brew that night, and planned for Draco to drink it on Saturday, just before they left for Hogsmeade. Draco was beginning to long painfully to see, and hated that everywhere he went people talked about the upcoming Quidditch game, Slytherin versus Gryffindor. The Slytherins had just managed to scrap up another player to fill in for Draco, but they were in the process of trying to cancel the match due to the Captain being unfit to play.

"I can't even remember what it's like to see anymore." Draco said wistfully as a group of gaggling girls surrounded him at the sixth year table.

"This table is off-limits to anyone not in their sixth year, so everyone else, goodbye." She snapped and the girls scowled as they stalked away. Nevertheless, that didn't stop them between classes. She had to drag him away before each class, and they were nearly late for every one.

Blaise seemed to find the whole thing hilarious, and Pansy pouted as the girls fussed over him. Everyone else was more sympathetic. A fifth year from Ravenclaw tried to spread a rumor that he was faking for sympathy, and it started to catch on, but then as he stalked from the hall he walked into a wall.

He played it up, making the girls feel sorry for him, but his mind was else ware. He imagined seeing again, flying high above the ground, catching the snitch from under Harry's nose. Life was beginning to be more like torture. He couldn't even do homework to take his mind off things, he tried once and the results weren't even legible.

The only thing sustaining him was the murky brown potion bubbling in their dormitory. He knew Harry and Ron had been enlightened of their plan, but he had decided to keep it quiet. He constantly wondered why Hermione was helping him; it would have been so much easier to pretend there wasn't a potion at all. '"_You came back for_ _me_."' She'd said. But he only did it because he would be blamed for it. _She's mental._

"Come on Malfoy, its dinner." Hermione tugged on the rope and he followed her.

Was it already dinner? "Sorry ladies." Draco excused himself as he followed her. He had been forced to sit by Harry and Ron all week, and their talk about Quidditch annoyed him.

"Hey you two." Hermione smiled as she sat down. Draco could tell who she was referring to, after listening to her for so long, he realized she had a different greeting for everyone. She piled food onto Draco's plate and forced a fork and knife into his hands, before serving herself. She'd taken it upon herself to make sure he ate, and it aggravated him even more.

"How're you holding up with Malfoy?" Harry paused from eating to ask.

Hermione shrugged. "Alright I guess. He plays everything up of course, to get sympathy, but I suppose he need it to boost his self esteem right now." The food in Draco's mouth stopped him from protesting, though Ron snorted and started coughing.

As Harry thumped him on the back to dislodge the food stuck in his windpipe, he said, "At least it will be over tomorrow."

Hermione thought over her words carefully. "It might not work; there is always a chance that a potion will be constructed wrong. If it doesn't though, it could destroy your eyesight for good."

"It will work fine," Ron said, "in our second year you constructed a Polyjuice potion almost single-handedly."

"Ron!" Hermione hissed, not out of modesty, but because of Draco. But he'd already said it.

"A Polyjuice potion?" Draco asked quizzically. "For what?"

"Nothing." Hermione blushed. "Just forget about it."

"So that's the potion you got from Most Potente Potions." Draco said thoughtfully. "Is that why you were in the Hospital Wing for so long? You tried to use it and it didn't work?"

"Malfoy! Shut up!" Hermione hissed.

"You _told _him?" Harry gaped.

"No! He somehow figured it out. I didn't even say anything." Hermione said. "Not on purpose, but not very many people could have put the clues together." It actually kind of impressed her that he was able to figure things out that easily.

"You know, if you weren't stuck with him all the time, I might actually wish it didn't work." Ron's eyes glazed over and he smiled dreamily. "Malfoy gone blind for life. Hit by a car and killed. Everyone celebrates."

Draco shot Ron a withering look. "Sod off Weasel."

"When will you give it to him?" Harry asked quickly, before a fight could break out.

"Right in the morning, before we leave for Hogsmeade." Hermione answered nervously, the thought of ruining anyone, even Draco's, eyesight terrified her.

"I see. Well, our first Quidditch game is right in the morning, so you'll be coming?" Harry asked.

Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "I always come Harry. But you do know that they might be canceling the game?"

Harry looked at Draco. "Will Malfoy play if they don't?"

Hermione shook her head. "We haven't told anyone we're trying the potion yet, and we can't get everyone's hopes up, it might not work. Besides, there's no way he'd be prepared."

"I'm always prepared." Draco growled. If he'd had a choice, he would have told the whole school and played, but he couldn't. Then he hissed as his knife sliced through his finger.

Hermione calmly took his hand and fixed the cut with her wand. Then she pried his hands off the cutlery and cut his food up for him. He scowled.

"You'll make a great Healer." Ron said as he watched.

Hermione smiled brightly at him. "Thanks Ron." His ears turned red.

Hands rested on Hermione's shoulders and squeezed them gently. Ron smile turned into a scowl. "Hey Seamus." Hermione stood up and hugged him tightly.

"Hey 'Mione." He smiled and kissed her gently. "I wish I could go to Hogsmeade with you."

Hermione sighed. "Me too. But rules are rules, and how are we supposed to develop inter-House unity if we don't follow them?"

"God forbid we break the rules." Draco said sarcastically.

Seamus looked at Draco with disgust and intense dislike. Then he looked at her and his eyes filled with warmth and he smiled again. "Good luck with Ferret boy then." Dean called his name and he looked over. "Do you mind if I sit over there?" He asked apologetically.

"Oh, no. We were just finishing up anyway." Hermione said goodbye and sat down, a happy grin on her face.

Ron's face was a deep purple, and he jabbed savagely at his food. "Ron?" Hermione asked tentatively.

He looked up. "What? Oh, I, er, have to go owl Fred and George. I'll see you." He stood up and stalked away. Morag saw him go, excused himself and followed him.

Harry looked at Hermione apologetically and then followed him. Pansy and Blaise brought up the rear.

"Weasel needs to get his emotions in check." Draco said flatly. "And get over you."

"Ron does _not _fancy me." Hermione said forcefully.

"Yes he does. Get out of whatever world you live in." He said and stood up. Unfortunately for him, he tripped on the edge of the bench and fell to the ground. Everyone that had witnessed it started laughing, but Hermione took Draco's arm and led him out of the hall. Unaware of a pair of eyes burning holes in their backs.

"I can't wait until tomorrow!" Draco grumbled.

"Malfoy…" Hermione glanced at him. "This may not work."

"Yes it will. I know it will. Why are you being so negative? I thought you were little goody two shoes optimist Granger? It _will _work." He burst out.

"Ok, then. It will work." She said as she pulled him out of the way of a wall.

That night Hermione rapidly worked through her homework. Then she moved onto Draco's, since the teacher's had all agreed that she should write out his answers. He was about as distracted as her, so she ended up writing it out herself.

When that was all done she began pacing. It was too early to go to bed and she couldn't sleep anyway. Blaise was giving her curious looks, but no one else seemed to notice. Probably because no one else was in that room. Harry and Pansy had gone to their respective bedrooms.

'_What if it doesn't work? I could be arrested for murder! Oh my gosh! What if it kills him? If I went into hiding, they would track me down and put me in Azkaban! I don't want to live like Sirius!' _

"Granger, give it a rest. I'm not going to die, though I'm flattered by your concern for my welfare." Draco smirked. "And I don't think you're so important that they'd track you down."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "You can read minds."

"No, you said everything out loud." Draco smirked and Blaise snorted with laughter.

"This is no time for jokes, we're talking about you're future here!" Hermione began pacing again.

"Didn't know you cared." Draco smirked.

"If you're blind I am forced to be with you for every minute of the bloody day, do you think I want that?" Hermione said shrilly.

"I would have thought you'd like an excuse to be near Blaise."

"I can't believe you're still on about that!" Hermione huffed. "I'm going my room, don't try to talk to me!"

"Best way to get rid of her." Draco snickered.

_-_

The next day Hermione woke at dawn after sleeping for about an hour, max, that night. She attempted to fall back asleep, but it was hopeless. A flicker of light played across her room and her eyes caught sight of her unused penseive and she decided not to put it off any longer.

By the time she had sorted through her memories and placed her selected ones in the penseive, she could hear noise in the common room. Fearing that Harry and Draco might be fighting, she hurried through her door and down the stairs.

"Blaise how can you say that?" Pansy shrieked. She and Blaise were across the room shouting back and forth between each other.

"Come off it Pansy you're just jealous!" Blaise shouted back.

Pansy laughed hysterically. "_Me? _Jealous of _her? _Just because you called her pretty does not make me jealous!"

Blaise laughed bitterly. "You're not fooling anyone! If a Slytherin boy even looks at another girl you throw a tantrum. Which happens often."

"I do not! You think-"

"What's going on?" Draco stuck his head around the corner of the door. He felt his way around the frame, and tripped on the corner.

"Draco!" Pansy cried and dashed over to him. "Are you alright? What a horrible fall! I feel so-"

"Pansy get off." He shook her off his arm. "I need to talk to Granger alone."

Pansy's eyes filled with tears as Blaise grinned. Then she turned and ran noisily into her room.

"Just the right thing to say." Blaise grinned and clapped Draco on the back.

"I _do _need to talk to Granger." Draco repeated and Blaise's grin faded.

"What? Why?" Obviously Draco hadn't enlightened his friend about their plan.

"Never mind." Draco said and Hermione placed a rope inside his palm and pulled him into the potions room. She then locked the door so no one would come inside. The potion was now a greeny brown, and in Hermione's opinion, looked very poisonous.

"Ok, we did everything right-I think-" She snatched up the potions book and flipped through the pages quickly, then tossed it aside. It landed open so she hurried over and gently placed it on the table, then she resumed pacing. "Ok, everything is done correctly, it won't kill him. I've taken all the necessary precautions-"

"What necessary precautions?" Draco asked disbelievingly, you'd think _she _was the one drinking the potion. "Why do you care?"

"Because I could never ruin someone's life and walk away unscarred, it would haunt me." Hermione closed her eyes. Draco couldn't count the number of lives his father had ruined, and taken, and he had never cared.

"It's only one life, and _you _wouldn't be affected."

"Really? Am I really unaffected?" Hermione asked. "Life, you can dismiss it easily if it isn't your own. But every day, every person you walk by on the streets, how can you not wonder? Are they really hurting because someone they love is gone, do they cry at night, knowing that they will never see them again? Is their loved one in pain because someone they know is gone forever? Somehow, everyone is associated with everyone, take one person out, and eventually everyone will be affected."

Draco gaped at her. How could one person be so…so…he couldn't even think of the right word. His mind thought back to occasions where his father had taken him to sites where he had killed someone, just to make it appear that he didn't know anything had happened.

"Just get on with it." Draco said hastily. He felt a cup being pushed into his hand. "Not poisoning me, are you Granger?" She didn't answer. "Ok, I'm drinking it now." He drew in a breath and took a long gulp. It was icy cold, and halfway down his throat it turned so hot he felt like his throat was on fire. Hermione let out a scream and Draco jumped.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I-I" Hermione stammered. "Can you see?"

He strained his eyes. "No." Disappointment filled his voice.

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god, what have I done?" Hermione's voice came from different places in the room and he knew she was pacing once again.

Suddenly everything seemed to be lighter, then gray. Silhouettes were shown around the room. _No, I'm just hoping. _But then colors flew into his line of vision, and before long Hermione flew into focus.

Her hair was normal, just plain bushy brown. But it wasn't really that plain, because no one had plain bushy brown hair anymore. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were filled with fear. Not just fear, but downright terror. _For me. _She was wonderful right then, the most beautiful thing in the world he could see. And it terrified him.


	10. Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not my own. Not even in my dreams. Well only sometimes.**

Draco reached out and touched the cauldron in front of him, the cauldron that he could _see _as he touched it.

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked in a voice that clearly said she thought he was mental.

"I can see…" he turned to look at her, but she didn't look convinced. She looked as though she had just suffered a severe disappointment and thought he was lying because he wanted to believe it was true.

"Right. Well, er, Malfoy just come with me, I'm right over here, we're going to the Hospi-"

"I don't need to go to the Hospital Wing!" Draco snapped, why did she think he was delusional?

"What am I wearing then?" She demanded and crossed her arms.

"Granger you can wipe that expression off your face and uncross your arms, that was a stupid question. You're wearing your robes. And put your hair in a ponytail, it's exceptionally uncontrollable today." Draco said boredly. Hermione took a step closer and examined his eyes.

"We did it!" She shrieked and nearly hugged him, before realizing what she was going to do, and quickly stepped back. Draco turned quickly and hurried out the door.

"Drakey? Why were you in there?" Pansy whimpered. She'd taken a stance beside the door, ready to strangle Hermione if anything had happened.

"Pansy do I have to relay every single moment of my life to you?" Draco said irritably. Leave it to Pansy to ruin his happiness of seeing.

"But…you were in there with _her. _I want to know what's going on." Pansy said. Draco ignored her. Blaise was waiting too, a frown planted on his face, and Harry stood by. Draco headed to the door and opened it.

"Granger, hurry up." Blaise, Harry and Pansy stared at him.

"It worked?" Harry turned to Hermione, she nodded.

"What worked? Did you, did you drug him!" Pansy cried and turned to glare at Hermione.

"No, he can see again." Hermione said calmly.

"That's amazing!" Pansy screamed and practically tackled Draco to the ground and planted kisses all over his face. Hermione turned away swiftly as she thought about Seamus.

"Why don't we go to breakfast?" Blaise suggested.

"Sure, let's go." Harry said quickly, disgusted by Pansy and Draco.

Draco strutted into the Great Hall like he owned it. A brave little kid stood up and as an apparent joke waved his hand in front of Draco's face. No one laughed. He did it again and Draco grabbed his wrist. "Do that again and there might be a little accident in the next Quidditch game." He snarled.

The poor little kid whimpered and sprinted back to his seat. The Slytherin table erupted in cheers, their beloved- no, _worshiped _leader was back, and as evil as ever.

"We're sitting with the Slytherins." Draco said.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Since when do you make the decisions?"

"Since I sat with the Gryffindors all week!" He snapped back. "Their stupidness has probably started to rub off."

Hermione frowned. "Well you'd be at a bigger risk there then at the Gryffindor table, but it's too late any way, their ugliness has already rubbed off onto you."

"Well according to you I'm hot." Draco smirked at her look of horror. "Your slut side told me that." He left her standing there, looking mortified.

She was still standing there when he sat next to Blaise. To his shock she turned and sat at the Gryffindor table anyway, right beside Seamus. Professor Dumbledore watched with a frown.

"So Drakey you're coming with me to Hogsmeade right?" Pansy simpered.

"No, Pans, we have to go with our partners." Draco said icily.

"But why don't we-"

"No. I'm not going with you." Draco said flatly and bit into a muffin. Pansy flashed him a scowl.

"How did you get your eyesight back, then?" Blaise asked.

"Granger brewed a potion, I drank it." Blaise looked at Draco in surprise.

"She helped you?" Blaise studied her at the Gryffindor table with dark eyes.

Draco shrugged. "She wants me." As though she had heard, Hermione frowned, but she didn't do anything.

The post came and a box of sweets was dropped in front of him. He smirked and picked them up, then placed the box in his robes. He looked back at Hermione as she laughed and scowled.

_-_

Hermione saw Draco scowling at her and smirked at him, she honestly didn't care if he was mad, and she was tired of doing what he wanted because of rules. It wouldn't hurt if she was away from him for one meal, would it?

That's what she thought.

Suddenly her glass of pumpkin juice tilted and spilled all down her front. She gasped and snatched a pile of napkins. As she tried to dry the juice all over her front she glared at Draco. He tried to appear nonchalant and look as though he hadn't done anything.

"Here, let me get that." Seamus took out his wand.

"No, no, no, it's alright." Hermione said quickly. "I'll just change my shirt later."

"Alright…" Seamus looked hurt, like Hermione didn't trust his magical ability. His face cleared when she said wished they could go to Hogsmeade together.

Hermione waved her wand under the table and tried to hide a smile as Draco spit his juice out and a look of pain crossed his face. Blaise turned to look at him and he said something. Draco shook his head and replied and Blaise's face turned sympathetic.

She ended the spell and Draco relaxed. A second later her leg felt like it had detached and was wandering away. She gasped and stood up on one leg, then started hopping towards her leg as it ran away. People stared at her as she went by. Suddenly she did a one legged pirouette and she tried to think up the counter spell. She'd read about a spell like this before and remembered telling Harry and Ron about it. All three had fantasized using it on different people. When she had the knowledge she needed she lifted the hex.

With one last outraged look she stormed from the hall. She was almost on the second floor when she felt a small tug, and suddenly she was flying through the air at breathtaking speeds. She screamed as paintings flew by and she picked up speed, until everything was a blur of color and she had tears forced from the corner of her eye. Terror seized her heart when she thought of what would happen if she fell, how high was she off the ground anyway?

The door to the Great Hall flew open and a screaming Hermione Granger flew through. Draco's mouth dropped open as she flew straight for him. With reflexes that could only have come from Quidditch he leapt out of the way and she instead landed in the arms of Blaise Zabini.

"Granger what the bloody hell was that?" Draco snapped as he jumped up. Blaise set her on the bench beside him quickly.

"I don't know." She gasped and gripped the seat so hard her knuckles turned white.

"Calm down Granger." Blaise said as he looked into her wild eyes.

"I told you she wants me." Draco said. Hermione said nothing. He frowned. "Let me see something." He stood up and strode across the Great Hall. He got to the wall on the other side, and then he felt the same tug Hermione had. At once both of them were lifted in the air and sped towards each other. They collided mid-air over the Ravenclaw table and went smashing into the table, spilling its contents over the floor.

"Are you okay?" Anthony Goldstein asked worriedly and people crowded around the two of them.

"Yes." Hermione gasped, severely shaken.

"Get _off_ me Granger!" Draco snarled and pushed her up and over into a plate of sandwiches. Anthony pulled her to her feet and brushed food off her shoulder.

"I have to go change." Hermione said and brushed Anthony away lightly. "There's no point in trying to use magic to get this all off."

"Are you coming?" Draco asked irritably. She hurried after him and they moved through the halls quickly.

Hermione changed quickly and ended up waiting ten minutes for Draco to finish primping in his mirror that was, in her opinion, far too small for his fat head, so she didn't see how he saw anything.

Within half an hour they were entering the Hogsmeade grounds. It felt good to be out of her robes, even if she was only in a casual hoodie and jeans. She breathed in and savored the crisp cool air and tried to save the orange colored leaves in her mind.

As they neared the first shop on the line, Hermione glanced at Draco. "So where do you want to go?"

Draco glared at her. "Don't say it like that, it makes us seem like we're here together and taking a lovely little stroll."

"Fine." Hermione snapped. She quickened her pace and stopped outside Honeydukes.

"Shall we- I'm going in. I don't care if you don't; I figure we have a distance of about a kilometer before the _thing _occurs." Hermione said. She turned and strode into Honeydukes, slightly annoyed when she heard Draco behind her.

They took about 20 minutes in the overcrowded store, and when they finally managed to squeeze out they both had a bag full of purchases. Draco forced her to come into Zonko's with him, and she, in retaliation spent an hour in a quill shop discussing the possibility of an eagle quill.

"Anywhere else?" He said tersely, wanting to flirt with several girls passing and knowing he couldn't.

"Well there's this new candy store I wanted to check out…it's called _Sweets for Sally_." Hermione said.

Draco shrugged. "Fine." He followed her down to the new store by The Three Broomsticks and stopped dead in front of the store. "That's a muggle store. I'm not going in there."

"It's owned by a wizard and his wife, and fine, I don't care if you come."

"Good, because I'm not. You have five minutes. Hurry up." He snapped and leaned against the wall, a scornful expression on his face.

Hermione took ten minutes and came out with a bag marked with a heart. Draco looked from her Honeydukes bag to her Sweets for Sally bag. "Enough food there, Granger?"

"No, but in previous weeks I realized how important it is to have food available in my room." She said. "The Three Broomsticks?"

Draco nodded. "Planning something are you?"

"Honestly Malfoy," she sighed, "why would I be planning something?"

Draco nodded to a leggy girl in a mini skirt. "I daresay you enjoyed the attention."

"No, I didn't." Hermione said tartly and scowled at the girl. The girl turned away quickly and hurried over to her friends.

"I bet you like snogging all those unfortunate people too." Draco snickered at her expression and held the door open for her out of habit, not consideration.

"Thank-you." Hermione said as she passed by. "In case you hadn't noticed, you were one of those 'unfortunate' people."

"Exactly why you enjoyed it." Draco answered as they made their way through the crowd.

"Exactly why I _didn't _enjoy it." Hermione said without hesitation.

"But Potter and Zabini were good?"

"One butterbeer please." Hermione said to Madame Rosmerta. "I didn't enjoy snogging anyone."

Draco smirked. "Not even Finnegan, he must be a damn bad kisser. One butterbeer."

"That's not what I meant! God, why are you so hard to deal with?" Hermione said, exasperated.

Their drinks were brought to them and Hermione said thank you a little too forcefully as she shot Draco the meanest look she could muster.

"You're perfect!" Someone exclaimed behind them.

They turned to look at the woman and found she was dressed like a muggle. She had electric blue eyes, white blonde hair, and a wild expression of glee on her face. This was the Muggle Studies Teacher, Professor Vinayan.

"Oh please sit down!" She hurried to a table in the corner and they had no choice but to follow her.

"I asked Professor Dumbledore if we the muggle studies class might make a production for our school, and he said yes. Unfortunately we didn't have enough people, so we had auditions today for some local people, but none of them came up so standard for the two main characters. But, finally, I have found them!" She looked excitedly at the two.

"What does this have to do with us?" Draco asked.

"You are them! It's the story of two rivals and their endless arguments, their lifetime of hatred! They search for something neither thinks the other has, it is a tragic story! Will you do it?" She turned her head from Hermione to Draco, nearly bouncing in her seat. "And you'll get extra credit, by the way!"

"Okay…" Hermione said slowly and Draco nodded.

"Great! You'll need to sign this contract so you don't bail on the last minute," she smiled, "just a safety precaution."

They both read the contract over carefully, but that's all it seemed to be, a safety precaution, so they signed. The writing glowed red and then returned to normal.

"Excellent! We begin now, here are the scripts," she shoved copies in their hands, "well half of them, we'll do the rest tomorrow, and follow me. We're filming it here. Let's go!" She grabbed their hands and dragged them through Hogsmeade into a cautioned off area bustling with activity.

"Ok everyone, time to practice!" Their teacher bellowed and their long day began.

They ate voraciously at dinner that night, and then went to bed, extremely tired. They had to get up early the next morning and finish the rest of the movie.

_-_

"You're joking!" Hermione said as she stared down at the other half of the script. "This goes against everything the movie stands for!"

"Hun, I wrote it, I know what it stands for. You have to do what I say." Her voice lost the airy cheerfulness and was now no nonsense.

"Are you sure it's appropriate?" Hermione asked, trying a different approach.

"I've already consulted the Headmaster."

"I am not doing thi-" Draco's mouth closed even though he wanted to keep talking.

"You signed a magical contract." After several minutes of arguments they had no choice but to start working.

_-_

"You'll be able to watch this tomorrow with the rest of the school." Professor Vinayan said as the headed back to Hogwarts for dinner.

"I can hardly wait." Draco scowled.

They ate dinner in silence, trying to avoid each others gaze.

"Where have you two been?" Harry asked Hermione when he sat down beside her in their common room.

"You'll find out tomorrow, I'd rather not explain it you, I'm exhausted." Hermione said, not looking up from her book.

"Did you know you and Malfoy aren't the only ones connected, none of the pairs can go very far away from each other, before the Quidditch practise everyone had to have the spell removed."

"Hmm." She said, and then looked up, "practice?"

"Yeah, they cancelled the game." Harry said bitterly.

Ron sat down next to them. "Haven't seen you lately, been with Seamus I suppose."

Hermione glared at him. "Honestly Ron, before you jump to too many conclusions try and think first." She slammed her book closed and stalked up to her room.

Ron muttered something unintelligible about Hermione's mood swings and then left too. Harry, with nothing left to do, got up and retired to his room. Draco was the only left.

He had just finished making the Quidditch teams and was tying it onto his owl's leg so he could deliver it to Professor McGonagall. He took the owl to the window and tossed it outside.

Blaise stepped out of his room and when he saw Draco walked over to him. "Hey." He said softly, almost guiltily. Draco didn't answer to he went on. "So where have you been this weekend?"

Draco shrugged. "You'll see tomorrow."

Blaise looked like he wanted to say more on the subject, but he didn't. "Listen Draco, do you, uh, you know, fancy Granger?"

Draco's head shot up. "What?

Blaise looked uncomfortable. "I just wanted to know, because you're always with her and-"

"I _have_ to be with her, you saw what will happen now!" Draco said sharply. "Do you think I have a choice?"

"Well I haven't seen either of you this weekend and I wanted to know of something was going on…" Blaise was definitely uncomfortable, he avoided Draco's eyes and focused on the couch instead.

"No, you'll understand tomorrow, it's nothing. Why you don't fancy her do you?" Draco scoffed. He hadn't even been serious, but Blaise's silence was all he needed to know.

"Blaise!" He exploded. "She's a mudblood, a Gryffindor, is friends with Potty and Weasel, she has a boyfriend, she goes against everything we believe in and-"

"How do you know I actually believe in that? You remember last summer, that was real! I had some glorified image of what everything was about and it was _nothing _like that! I don't know if I can take it Draco, it changed me, it changed my perspective on everything." Blaise's face was red and his hands were clenched tightly.

"Blaise," Draco said with a forced calm voice, "what is wrong with you? Would you really go against everything your family, friends, your House, everything you've been raise to believe, your _destiny_?"

"Look, I don't know Draco. I'm really confused, it's not like I wanted this to happen. I need to think things over." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I told you this because you're my best friend, so please don't use this against me."

"I'd say your barking, Blaise." Draco said flatly. They stood there in silence, then both gruffly said goodnight and retired to their bedrooms.

_-_

Professor McGonagall was in her office when an owl flew in. She took the letter and read it over quickly. The rules were simply the same as their regular Quidditch, but each team that won would be given a trip to Hogsmeade on the weekend. Draco had made the Quidditch teams by himself, no surprise there. She made sure everyone was used, but discovered Hermione wasn't there. She frowned.

With a smile she wrote Hermione Granger beside Draco Malfoy and put the parchment to the side, she'd post it tomorrow.

**I also know that some authors like to recommend some of their favourite stories, so I'll give you three.**

**The Unseemingly Proposal –scarlet-sparx (One of the best I have EVER seen.)You have got to check it out!!)**

**Mr. Maybe –firebirdflame (I just found this recently but it is soooo good, I love it!!)**

**A World Apart- lolagirl (This is so sad, with raw emotion, but it is so nice and I don't think anyone can honestly say they don't like it.)**


	11. Of Pure and Dirty

Of Pure and Dirty

**A/N I am planning on posting the first chapter of The House of Hell on Monday or Tuesday, please R & R! Just to let you know though, I plan on making it a bit brighter the The Initiation because I have some dark stuff planned for this one. **

**Oh and I know the quality of the movie is awful, it's supposed to be. :D**

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Harry Potter. IDOHO. Lol**

The next day the residents of their dormitories found lists containing their Quidditch. Hermione looked at it apprehensively, almost expecting to be given a huge job that she would, under no circumstances, be able to fulfill.

**Captain-Harry Potter**

**Seeker-Harry Potter/Shelby Fawcett**

**Chaser-Dean Thomas**

**Chaser-Parvati Patil**

**Chaser-Millicent Bullstrode**

**Beater-Gregory Goyle**

**Beater-Melissa Moon**

**Keeper-Theodore Nott**

"You made me captain?" Harry grinned at Hermione.

Hermione shook her head slowly. "I didn't help with the teams…Malfoy made them."

Harry's smile faded. "Malfoy made me captain?"

Hermione shrugged. "I suppose. And Blaise is a captain too."

**Captain-Blaise Zabini**

**Seeker- Mandy Brocklehurst**

**Chaser-Blaise Zabini**

**Chaser-Morag McDougal**

**Chaser- Padma Patil**

**Beater- Justin Flinch Fletchey**

**Beater- Susan Bones**

**Keeper-Ron Weasley**

"I guess none of us are on the same team." Hermione said, disappointed.

"What are you?" Harry asked as he scanned the list. "Malfoy made the teams? Are you sure?"

"Yes…" She quickly looked for herself and felt the blood drain from her face. "Seeker? With _Malfoy?"_

**Captain- Draco Malfoy**

**Seeker- Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger**

**Chaser- Seamus Finnegan**

**Chaser-Lavender Brown**

**Chaser-Terry Boot**

**Beater-Pansy Parkinson**

**Beater- Vincent Crabbe**

**Keeper- Ernie McMillon**

At that instant every head in the common room turned to look at said blonde boy.

"What?" He yelped and ripped a list from Blaise's head to scan it quickly. He looked up, confused. "I didn't put Granger with me! I put her…no where." He swore loudly.

"What?" Pansy asked.

"I forget to put her anywhere. McGonagall must have put her there with me." Draco said and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh.

"_Professor _McGonagall." Hermione said somewhat shrilly. "I can't be a seeker! I've never even _played_ Quidditch!"

"You aren't the seeker, I am, you're just strapped to my back!" Draco retorted.

"Strapped?" Hermione squeaked.

"Don't worry Hermione, you're not being strapped to anything." Harry said, misunderstanding her concern.

She only nodded. Seeker! Even if she wasn't alone, she was still up there, hundreds of feet above the ground…

"What's this?" Pansy said and picked up another piece of paper. "Oh, we all have to be in the Great Hall by 7:00 this morning. I guess we should hurry up then."

Hermione and Draco already knew that the whole school would be viewing their movie-not that it made them feel any better. They even traded apprehensive looks when Professor Vinayan stood up and the hall quieted.

"Students I have an announcement. Professor Dumbledore agreed with me when I told him I thought Hogwarts would benefit from viewing a muggle movie. I thought it would be a wonderful experience for the students in my fifth year Muggle Studies class to film a movie with me, so we have!

"For those of you that don't know, a movie is recorded sounds and images that you can watch over and over again with a television.

"On Saturday and Sunday, I and several of the students here began filming. A special thanks goes to Richard Ricardo for helping to edit the movie. Without further ado, let the movie begin!" While she'd been talking the staff had moved their tables away and put up a big white board. Filch pulled in a projector and Hermione wondered how it would work, but figured it was probably tampered with magic too.

**Letters appeared on the screen saying 'Of Pure and Dirty.'**

**Starring**:

There was a clip of Draco standing on a beach in swimming trunks, his perfectly toned body visible. **Draco Malfoy as Ben Ster.**

Then there was Hermione, also on the beach, hands on hips as she stared in the distance. She was in a bright pink bikini and her straightened hair blew all around her face. Several people wolf whistled and Hermione blushed scarlet.

**Hermione Granger as Chloe Montiago**

Several more pictures appeared of people with the supporting roles, but none got the reaction that the two sixth years' had gotten. The hall turned black and the movie began.

**Chloe was walking along the beach and looking longingly at couples. She was so distracted that she ran right into Ben.**

"**Oh! Ben I am so sorr-"**

"**Don't call me by first name you filthy mudblood." Ben snarled and backed away.**

"**Shut up!" Chloe cried as tears pooled in her eyes.**

"**Why should I? I'm merely telling the truth." Ben laughed as Chloe turned away. He stuck out his foot and she fell crashing into the sand.**

**Everyone nearby looked over and laughed. "Leave me alone!" She cried and ran away as fast as she could.**

"**Ben?" Ben's girlfriend asked.**

"**What?"**

"**Ben, you know Chloe isn't a bad person, you shouldn't be so awful to her."**

"**Big deal, she's a mudblood." Be laughed.**

**His girlfriend slapped his face and shouted, "We're over!" She then turned and stalked away.**

"**Oooh." Ben's friend said as Ben stared after the girl.**

**At School**

**Chloe was walking with her friend and laughing, but a Slytherin tripped her and she fell forward into Ben's chest. He pushed her away and she fell to the floor.**

"**What the hell Ster!" A Gryffindor boy yelled angrily as Chloe's friend helped her up.**

"**What do you want Gryffindork?" Ben cracked his fingers and Chloe's face turned pale.**

"**No, Josh!" She pulled Josh and led him away by the arm. Halfway down the hall she turned to look back at Ben, but quickly looked ahead as tears pricked her eyes.**

"**Still not over her?" Eric, Ben's best friend, asked.**

"**What are you talking about? Of course I'm over her!" Ben turned and practically yelled.**

"**Right. She broke up with you-"**

"**She didn't break up with me!" Ben shouted, attracting curious looks from other people in the corridor.**

**Eric raised an eyebrow. "Then what happened?"**

"**She saw me cheating on her…"**

"**And broke up with you." Eric finished with a grin. "Well it doesn't look like she's over you either so you're in luck." Before Ben could reply he jumped. "Damn the stupid talent show's about to start!"**

**They ran to the auditorium and quickly sat in two empty seats.**

**The first person juggled plates and nearly broke all of them, the second danced, the third read a poem, the fourth played a very long song on the cello. By then end everyone was bored and there was a small buzz. Then Chloe walked onstage.**

**She walked nervously on and took the mike in a shaking hand. Then she opened her mouth and everyone gasped. Her voice was strong and pure.**

Everyone in the Great Hall gaped, not knowing Hermione could sing at all and she blushed furiously, aware that she was now an object of intense scrutiny.

**Ben stared, astonished. When she was done she turned and left the stage, but he still looked at the spot she'd just been in. **

**As Ben and Eric were getting ready for bed they talked about Chloe.**

"**She's into you." Eric mustered up the best smirk he could.**

"**The chorus in her song was I hate you, how could you do this, you killed me. Does that sound like love to you?" Ben asked glumly.**

"**You never know, maybe it's not about you." Eric suggested.**

"**Right." Ben crawled into his bed and tried to sleep but his eyes were wide open.**

**Then the image flashed to Chloe and Crystle, her best friend.**

"**So the song was about Ben, right?" Crystle asked.**

"**Well sort of. He did really hurt me, but I don't hate him. On the contrary I…" Chloe's voice trailed off.**

"**Love him." Finished Crystle.**

"**Yes. Oh am I such a bad person!" She moaned and collapsed on her bed.**

"**You're not a bad person, you're just… in love." Crystle said smartly. Then she blew out the candle lighting the room.**

**The Next Day**

**Chloe hurried into the Charms class and noted that the only empty seat available was beside Ben. She tried to look disappointed and not ecstatic.**

"…**your partner for this assignment is the one beside you. Class dismissed, I expect all of you to work for the reminder of the time." Their charms teacher said as he finished a forty five minute lecture and detailed description of the assignment they were doing.**

"**Shall we go to the library?" Ben asked and turned to look at Chloe.**

**She shrugged. "Sure." They found a table at the back of the library and took a seat. There was an awkward pause and Chloe stood up quickly, mumbling something about getting books and hurried away. Ben just sat there until she came back and dumped the stack of books on the table. She sat down, grabbed one, and began reading.**

Hermione felt her face heating up and Draco shifted beside her. This was the second half.

**Chloe looked up and asked softly, "are you staring at me?"**

**Ben jerked his head. "What? Er…maybe."**

"**Why?" Chloe whispered.**

"**Because I-I-" jumped up, grabbed Chloe and began kissing her senseless. Chloe stood there for a minute and then began kissing him back too. **

"**Ben!" Eric dashed to their table, took sight of them, and blushed. "Sorry to intrude." He turned and quickly hurried away.**

"**Ben," Chloe panted and tried to smooth her clothes out, "this doesn't really change anything. I mean, it was a spur of the moment thing, I didn't realize what I was doing." She took one last look at him and then strode away quickly. Ben watched her leave and then punched the table angrily.**

**The next day the bell rang and Chloe hurried to her next class. She opened the door and gasped when she saw Ben and another girl in a tight lip lock. She used a spell and the girl went flying. Ben watched as Chloe disappeared around the corner.**

**Chloe wasn't in her next class or the next. The next day at breakfast Ben asked Crystle where she was.**

"**Why do you care?" She demanded rudely.**

"**Because I…I love her." Crystle's eyes widened. **

"**Oh no! I have to go!" Chloe sprinted away and Ben chased her to the doors leading into the school. It was raining heavily outside and they were just in time to see Chloe climb into a carriage.**

"**Where's she going?" Ben asked frantically.**

"**She's…oh I'm sorry!" Crystle burst into tears.**

"**What?"**

"**She's leaving Hogwarts!" **

"**NO!" Ben leaped out and ran for the carriage.**

"**Ben! Stop!" Crystle screamed from the door.**

"**Accio broomstick!" Ben shouted and as it hurtled two him he leapt onto it and pursued the carriage. He's almost reached the carriage when something hit him from behind.**

"**AAH!" He shouted and fell. He turned around and came face to face with a dragon.**

There were a few shrill screams from the female members of Hogwarts.

**It burned Ben's broomstick to a crisp with a breath of fire and Ben bravely drew a sword he always happened to have with him that you didn't notice before. Chloe stepped out of the carriage in time to see Ben yell a war cry and plunge his sword into the dragon's neck. She screamed as it sank a fang into his chest.**

"**Ben! No!" She shouted and ran over. In one quick motion she grabbed the sword from the ground and thrust it into the dragon's heart. It gave one great moan and collapsed, dead.**

**She dropped beside Ben and shook with tears.**

"**Chloe…" Ben whispered. "I love you…"**

"**I love you too Ben." She sobbed. He closed his eyes and she leaned over and kissed him. A blinding light filled the clearing and the two were lifted slowly into the air. Ben's chest was healed and the color returned to his face.**

"**Ben?" Chloe whispered. He leaned over and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and they slowly floated back to the ground.**

**The End**

Special Features

Hermione stood holding the bright pink bikini with a look of disbelief on her face.

"You want me to wear _this?_" Draco snickered in the background.

"So Hermione, how did you feel about your costumes?" A girl asked in an interview.

"The bikini is hideous. The whole time I was wearing it I wanted to die." Hermione sighed.

"How did you feel about the roles you and fellow star Draco Malfoy play together?"

"I wish I'd known we were supposed to be in love before I signed the contract. She told me I had to kiss him and I died then and there. Then the contract brought me back to life and I was forced to do it." Hermione replied.

"What do you think of the plot?"

"It's atrocious. Everything was extremely fake and far fetched, why would he have a sword with him, and why would there be a dragon there? It was supposed to be romantic, but I found it stupid."

"What was your favourite scene?"

"The only scene I'm not crying or dressed like a bimbo. When Chloe and her friend are talking in their dorm."

The girl nodded. "Several of the cast members have noticed this plot seems very close to home. Have you ever thought of it happening in real life?"

Hermione stared at the interviewer and burst out laughing. "Me and…Malfoy? Are…you kidding? How can you…say…with a …straight face! Me and _Malfoy_?"

"Er, right. Thanks for your time and I can't wait for the finished production."

_Flash_

"You want me to say what?" Draco asked incredulously as Hermione stood beside him.

"You say I love you." Someone prompted.

"What?" Draco just stared. "No. Not possible." He shook his head. Then his mouth opened and, "I love you." He swore. "Bloody contract."

_Flash_

Professor Vinayan was giving a long lecture of the importance of crying regularly.

"She's barking." Draco muttered.

"I couldn't agree more." Hermione replied.

"You! Cry!" Their teacher pointed at Hermione and miraculously her eyes filled with tears.

"How'd you do that?" Draco frowned as Professor Vinayan moved on.

"When you've experienced enough and lost something close to you, it comes naturally." Hermione whispered back.

_Flash_

This time Draco was the one seated by the girl interviewer.

"How did you feel when you found out about the romance involved in the film?"

"Repulsed." Draco said. "Bloody repulsed. She gave us a script, we read it, signed the bloody contract, and she bloody gave us a new one!"

The girl looked amused. "I see. So how has your relationship with fellow star Hermione Granger changed?"

Draco snorted. "It hasn't. The feeling of mutual hate is still there. Unless Granger's gone and fallen in love with me, which is highly likely." He smirked.

"Have you ever considered getting together with Hermione?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Merlin no."

"Why do find the idea so revolting?"

Draco merely raised his eyebrows. "What does this have to do with the goddamn movie?"

"Nothing, nothing, just a question." She said hastily. She turned to the camera. "That's it folks, you have Draco Malfoy."

_Flash_

"Ben! I am so sorry!"

"Get away from me mudblood!" Draco snarled and pushed her away.

"Shut up!"

"Why should I? I'm just telling the truth!"

"Well at least my father isn't a Death Eater!" Hermione shouted.

The blood drained from Draco's face. "Don't you dare talk to me like that!"

"Why? Don't tell me what to do!"

"Where have Potty and Weasel been lately? Maybe they've been sneaking around with your boyfriend!" Draco spat.

Hermione reached out an arm to slap him but it was grabbed and three cast members dragged her away.

_Flash_

"Why do you care?" Crystle demanded.

"Because I…I…"Draco turned to the camera. "Do I really have to say that?"

_Flash_

Hermione was dancing insanely to music pumping from a stereo and Draco imitated her while the cast watched dubiously.

It froze as Draco did the electric slide with an invisible guitar and Hermione posed leaning against him pretending to hold a microphone. They both had genuine smiles on as they laughed.

The lights came on and the Slytherins began chanting Draco's name. "Draco! Draco! Draco!"

The Gryffindors countered with Hermione's name. "Hermione! Hermione! Hermione!"

As one late sleeper stumbled into the Great Hall two of her senses took immediate action. She looked at the picture of the two and heard the one word that seemed to be chanted.

"Dramione! Dramione!"

**A/N Sorry about the shortness but it was easier just to get this all in this chapter instead of getting into something else and then interrupting that. I'm also sorry if I bored you, because there was no major relevance to this, but I know a few of you wanted to know about the movie…blah blah as I blabber on.**

**Anyway I'm going away for the weekend so I look forward to coming back and reading a few nice reviews smiles hopefully**

**Thanks for reading!**


	12. Once Again

**A/N Thanks for reviewing, and I must apologize for how weak the last chapter was. It wasn't very special, no romance, just… bad acting. I hope this one makes it up for you.**

**OMG! I'm ecstatic! Over 50 reviews! So what, other stories with half the chapters have had more reviews, but that doesn't matter! XD**

dracoisthesexiestmanalive Steelo Silidons Ehlonna FallFromGrace1191 Mrs.MShadows Autumn's-Smile rae mean-girl123 GalaxyStorme-NH- Jackie - BL- Natsunohinagiku beta-er firebirdflame Cherryfaerie waterbender2892 loveudraco Greenpeace420 Siri is alive roleena kashka Kandygurl4 shadowfox1186 Silent Kunoichi aka. Fiona Swimming-Gal Elemental Dragon1 Inspyred joeyluver-dragonofra

**Thanks so much! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!**

**By the way I went over the story and edited a few things, because it's been bothering me for awhile. These are the changes.**

**They are NOT Head Boy and Girl, just Prefects**

**This starts in October and not September**

**I took out A LOT of Hermione crying because I hated it**

**I removed a few parts I did not like**

**Major out of character-ness**

**There's nothing so big that you have to re-read everything, if you want you can skim the chapters, you might only notice a few different things**

**Disclaimer- If I was J.K Rowling I would be more likely to thank the billions of people that bought Harry Potter then the reviewers to my fanfic. And for the record, the tongue thing is from the Mediator series, and the fight is based off HBP.**

When the chanting finally died down, which lets just say took quite awhile, a beaming Professor Vinayan stepped forward.

"I'd like to thank our stars Miss Hermione Granger and Mister Draco Malfoy." There was loud cheering and several appreciative looks thrown at Hermione.

"Muggle Studies will be making more of these movies, but not on such a large scale. If you're interested, try and get a transfer into the muggle studies class, it's not too late!" She beamed at the students.

Everyone stared at the blushing couple as they both fervently wished they could sink into the ground. Blaise's dark eyes focused solely on Hermione.

"I didn't know you could act," Ron looked at her with an extra warmth in his eyes, "you were great."

"Thanks Ron." She smiled.

"Did you keep the bikini?" Lavender put in excitedly.

"Well, yes." Hermione said regretfully. "I don't believe in wasting anything."

"Ooh, and _how_ did you manage to get your hair so straight and silky?" Parvati purred.

One change in fashion brought out the worst in those two.

"Well, first they used a straightening iron, then a potion and then a spell." She nibbled on a muffin and shifted uncomfortably.

"Why didn't you leave it like it that?" Lavender looked Hermione's bushy brown hair over critically and wrinkled her nose with distaste.

"Because," Hermione snapped, "there is nothing wrong with my hair right now and I don't believe in using magic to perfect your looks."

Unanimously Lavender and Parvati sighed. "You always did believe such silly things." Then they buried their giggling heads behind a copy of Witch Weekly.

"It really did look good." Ron gave her a slight smile.

"Are you saying it looks bad now?" Hermione snapped.

"What? No!" Ron spluttered.

"Ronald Weasley you are such an insolent prick!" She huffed and stood up quickly. "Does the world revolve around looks?" She snatched up her bag, swung it on her shoulder and stomped out of the Great Hall.

_I shouldn't have lost my temper. _She leaned against the wall and took deep soothing breathes. _Does it matter at all that I'm the only girl that doesn't change them self to impress someone?_

Draco emerged and found the girl with her eyes closed and lips moving, probably trying to calm herself down.

"Er, Granger?" He asked hesitantly, hoping fervently that she wouldn't turn her rage on him.

"It's all that Professor's fault! The stupid bloody video directed by the goddamn barking teacher!" She hitched her bag higher up on her shoulder.

"Insulting a teacher are we?" He raised a pale eyebrow.

"Well honestly can you say you enjoyed pretending to be in love with one so _unworthy_?" Draco could see she was going to release quite a bit of anger. "Everyone thinks my life is easy! Well they're not even close. So what I'm not beautiful, and least I didn't change myself to make a boy look at me! Magic is a gift, it shouldn't be used for stupid things like that, and just because I'm muggleborns doesn't mean I don't understand that! I was chosen to come here for the same reason as everyone else!"

She started pacing back and forth. "None of them were eleven and trying to save the lives of your two best friends, or wondered if they were giving their friend a poisonous potion that would kill them! Knowing that you're being singled out because of your heritage, knowing secrets you shouldn't know that terrify you, watching your friend nearly kill himself, the Department of Mysteries…" She stopped ticking things off on her fingers and looked lost in thought for a minute. Her eyes were haunted. "Nothing…"

The she seemed to lose her train of thought. "Being the only girl without other girl friends because she seeks solstice in books, and then finally making two friends that don't always understand what the hell I'm going through, and then Ginny but she's too popular I never get a hold of her.

"And then finally someone that cares and Ron gives me grief because he's from another school. Harry didn't mind! Fraternizing with the enemy! Don't make me laugh," she actually sounded kind of insane when she laughed manically. Draco had no idea what she was talking about and then it clicked in-Krum.

"Parvati and Lavender are beautiful, but shouldn't a girl care more about what's going on in the real world then the fact that her clothes don't match her makeup or she's having a bad hair day? Shouldn't you know more then just how many dates to wait until you let him kiss you and how not to appear too clingy? Does any of that matter?" She stopped ranting and slowly turned to Draco. Her eyes widened.

"Oh no…I didn't mean to say all of that…" She looked mortified. Draco's first thought was blackmail but then he considered everything he knew, and that if he said anything about she would go tell her friends about if he messed it up then…

"It's okay." He said and she nodded with a relieved look on her face.

"I-I need to use the loo." They hurried to the nearest bathroom and Draco waited for her outside.

Pansy, Harry and Blaise walked by and Pansy hurried over to plant kisses in him while congratulating him. His mind was still on Hermione's outburst and he pushed her away semi gently. Hermione came out in time to see this and she smiled slightly, Draco nodded.

Blaise narrowed his eyes as he watched the exchange.

"Shall we go?" Harry asked, oblivious to anything except that Pansy looked ready to throw a tantrum. He'd had loads of experience with Dudley, he could tell.

"Look Harry, I wanted to say sorry about this morning. Is Ron mad?" She fell into step with Harry.

"Ron?" He looked thoughtful, "no he's just in a huff about you being mad at him. And for the record I like your hair better this way."

She smiled. "Harry you're going to make a girl very happy someday. Ginny's lucky."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "Wait, why is Ginny lucky?"

Hermione smiled in reply and hurried to catch up with the Slytherins.

_GMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGM_

This potion was more difficult then the last, and required large amounts of time between each stir, or the next added ingredient. Hermione and Draco used their extra time to finish up any homework they still had and get anything out of the way that they wanted to do. At 6:30 all the sixth years dashed back to their rooms, they'd lost track of time and had to add the next ingredient. Any mistake and the potion would be ruined. It was eleven that night before it was actually ready and they were all stretched to their limit and tense.

Hermione's heart pounded. "This is it."

"It's not a death sentence, Granger." Draco snapped, who severely disgruntled himself. A piece of paper flew out and he caught it.

_Draco_

His heart plummeted in his chest. Without a word he handed it to Hermione.

She glance at it and sighed as relief washed over her. He ladled the potion into a cup and put the extra in a jar and labeled it. Harry was doing the same and had a very sour look on his face.

She watched as Draco gulped it down, expecting some sort of change to occur. Nothing did.

"I don't fell different." He said, though he actually did, a bit more impulsive. "I'm going to bed, I didn't sleep well last night."

Hermione could immediately sense the change. He wouldn't normally tell her that information. "What were you doing."

"Thinking about you." His mouth said this before he could think up a lie. His eyes widened. Then he turned on his heel and marched from the room.

Hermione watched him go, puzzled. He'd been thinking about her? The thoughts were all probably negative anyway, but just that he'd spent time thinking about one so 'worthless'.

"Earth to Hermione." Harry waved a hand in front of her face and she snapped back to the present, deciding not to dwell on sill musings.

"Oh, hey Harry. How're you feeling?" She asked.

"Fine I guess." He shrugged. "Any idea what's supposed to be happening?"

"No idea, Malfoy has already gone to bed, apparently he was up late last night." Hermione replied, wishing she was in her soft bed too.

"Probably with some slut." Hermione's eyebrows shot up and Harry looked surprised with himself. Harry didn't use crude humour…

"…Well I'd better turn in if I want to get up tomorrow. Night Harry." She hugged him and they parted ways outside the door. Before she opened the door to her room she turned around and saw Blaise sitting on the couch.

"Night…Blaise." She said softly, then turned and hurried inside. His head shot up and he watched her go through, a smile played on his lips.

"Night…Hermione."

Hermione changed into pajamas and brushed her teeth. Having your own room had its benefits. No one cared what you wore to bed and there were no unwanted questions. For instance if Lavender and Parvati had been there they would have asked why she was wearing someone's boxers and a baggy t-shirt. She would have told them she'd gotten them because she liked the color, not because they'd been Matt's and he'd left them at her house after that one day and she didn't want to let them go…or him go…

She checked to make sure her penseive was safely hidden away and then turned out the light. Sleep overtook her quickly…

_She was running along the corridors of Hogwarts, terrified. She looked behind her and screamed, it was coming closer. What it was she wasn't sure, but it was cold and evil and enough to make your heart stop cold. She turned onto the next corridor and looked around for help, from anything…The hall was empty._

"_No!" She screamed. "Help!" She looked around wildly. There was a dark shadow coming towards her. A chilling rattling noise came from the hood of the cloak and everything around her went dead silent, she couldn't hear her own breathing, only see it in the icy air. A slimy gray hand reached out towards her. She was frozen to the spot, couldn't even scream. _

_Then she was released and she turned to run, but Draco was there, blocking her path with his wand pointed at her heart. Desperately she turned around and the cloak's hood was lowered. In the place of a head was two red eyes glowing as they fastened on her._

"_Avada Kedavra!" Someone yelled. _

"_Draco!" She shrieked and was hit with a blinding green light._

"Hermione! Hermione wake up!" Someone was banging on her door. It took her a minute to find her way out of the tight bundle of sheets wrapped around her. Cold sweat dotted her brow, her shirt was soaked.

She stumbled over the door and pulled it open as she gulped down air to fill her lungs.

"Hermione are you alright?" Harry asked the second he saw her.

"Fine, just a nightmare." She gasped. Pansy, Blaise and Draco were all standing by the door, eyes fastened on her immediately.

"Oh good because I thought maybe Voldemort invaded your mind like he did mine last year, or he was visiting your dreams, or you were having another nightmare." Harry said and then looked furious with himself for saying it.

"Harry no, I'm fine. Really." Hermione said quickly. The potion had obviously made Harry and Draco say their thoughts…

"Why did you say my name?" Draco asked and Hermione froze.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked quickly. Her voice was higher then usual and raspy so she cleared her throat.

"You screamed my name." Draco said flatly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She persisted and shifted feet.

"You're lying." Draco said as he watched her. "I can tell."

"How would you know? You know nothing, so sod off." She snapped.

'Is someone in your room?" Pansy asked as she surveyed Hermione's attire.

"No."

"So why are you wearing boxers? Someone else's boxers quite obviously."

"They belonged to an old friend of mine!" She hissed.

Harry looked doubtful. "Friend? Looks like he's got a bit more then friendship on his mind."

"It was awhile ago okay! And it's complicated." Hermione was becoming pretty annoyed with their pestering.

"The one you lost your virginity to right?" Draco asked.

"I don't think you have any right to ask me that! Is there anything else of real importance because I'd like to go to bed!" She glared at them all.

"How many other dreams have you had about me?" Draco asked.

"Is this an interrogation?" She demanded. "I'm going to bed!" Then she stormed back into her room.

_Damn Malfoy and his damn questions! He has no right to ask me such personal questions! Why is he able to put the words to things that I least want to talk about, he of all people shouldn't have that power._

She went to sleep with a frown that did not disappear through the entire restless night.

_GMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGM_

They were all in a foul mood and everyone noticed as they walked into the Great Hall. Draco had a very short temperament and was like a twig being bent, ready to snap.

"Draco, it's you." Theodore Nott said as he sat down at the Slytherin table.

"Obviously." Draco snapped.

Hermione sipped her orange juice and gazed around the hall. Her eyes rested on the Gryffindor table. Dean was kissing Ginny a bit more passionately then Ron and Harry wanted.

"Ginny! Stop that!" Ron shouted and Harry stood up with clenched fists.

Immediately the two separated.

"Ron, clam down." Ginny muttered as she noticed they held the attention of a few people. "We we're just saying goodbye."

"I wasn't aware that saying goodbye involved tongue." Ginny's jaw dropped and Harry went on. "Ron lets never say goodbye again, I certainly don't want your tongue in my mouth." Dean's face was rivaled by Ginny's, the appropriate shade of a tasty strawberry.

"Agreed Harry." Ron said nastily. "And you, Thomas. If you hurt her I will rip you limb from limb." Hermione stood up and hurried over to the table as fast as she could without running; the situation didn't need any more attention.

Ginny stood up angrily. "Ron why don't you stay out of my life! Just because you've never snogged anyone doesn't mean we're all lonely pricks!"

Hermione quickened her pace into a jog.

"How would you know?" Ron demanded. Hermione stopped, looked back and gestured for Draco to follow; she wasn't in the mood to fly. He got up and sauntered over, where she waited agitatedly until he was within 3 meters of her.

"Who've you snogged then? Do you have something going on with Pig?" Ginny was almost hysterical. "Harry snogged Cho Chang! Hermione snogged Viktor Krum! Romilda snogged…"

The list went on but Hermione as lost after she heard her own name. Barely anyone said anything about the fact that she and Viktor had gone to the Yule Ball together, but now…

"Hermione snogged Krum?" Ron laughed. "I don't think so." Abruptly he turned on her. "Did you?"

"I-I-" She stumbled over her words to try and find the right ones. She wasn't about to admit she'd done the things many girls fantasized about, especially not in front of Ron.

"Don't answer Hermione, he'll ruin your life too!" Ginny snarled.

"This is between Hermione and I!" Ron shouted.

Ginny laughed. "Ron there is _nothing_ between you and Hermione! She doesn't like you the way you like her, so you should give up on her."

Ron turned a darker shade of red. "What are you talking about Ginny?"

"Ron you know what I'm talking about." Ginny answered. "Now stay out of my life!"

"I'm looking out for you."

"Well I don't need you! Either of you, all you do is complicate everything! Do you have to be involved in my life because you don't have your own? And Harry, I don't need you to protect me!"

"Fine. Have a nice life. And next time you get stuck in the Chamber of Secrets I'll be sure not to rescue you from Voldemort and inconvenience you even more." Harry said quietly, his eyes were cold. Ginny's mouth formed a small 'o'.

"No, Harry I didn't…" Harry turned on his heel and stormed away, followed closely by Ron, who shot Dean a furious look. The feeling slowly came back into her legs and she dashed after them. As she reached the boys Ginny ran by with her face in her hands, trying to hold back tears. Harry and Ron ignored her.

"You two are such pricks!" She hit them both over the side of the head.

"Ouch!" Ron rubbed his head. "You didn't really snog Krum did you?"

"I-what?" She asked, startled by the abruptness of his question.

"Did you snog Krum?" He repeated.

"Well I-I why does it matter?" She stammered.

"You either did or you didn't, I want to know!" Ron said irritably.

"Obviously she did Ron." Harry said condescendingly. "He's not even that bad a guy."

"That isn't what I'm talking about!" Hermione interrupted before they began arguing. "You two need to behave and treat Ginny with respect, she's nearly a grown woman now!"

"His tongue was-"

"I don't care _where_ his tongue was, Harry. You'd better be happy you still have yours." Hermione barked. The bell rang and students poured from the Great Hall, all watching Harry and Ron with interest, hoping for another blow up.

"You have issues." Draco said as he returned to Hermione's side, having been standing a few meters away with Pansy and Blaise. "You're lucky she's not doing anything worse, in public anyway."

Hermione could have slapped him for giving Ron more to think about.

"So you snogged Krum." Blaise said in what would have been a conversational tone, but Draco picked up a bit of jealousy. Not without disgust as well.

"Did I say I snogged Krum? Because I don't recall saying I snogged Krum." Hermione snapped instantly.

"But you did." Draco smirked. She fumed and stomped away. Everyone watched her retreating figure. "That one has a temper. How you lasted six years is beyond me."

"There's a lot that's beyond you, in fact most things are." Harry grumbled and they followed her to Charms.

"Why does Ron care anyway?" Hermione brought it up again in the middle of Charms class.

"Because he's in love with you." Harry said immediately. His eyes widened.

"What was that?" She asked, distracted and continued jabbing at her empty goblet.

"Nothing." Harry said quickly.

Hermione concentrated hard and waved her wand. With disappointment she tipped her goblet upside down and a few drops of water came out.

"Do you think it's weird that Ginny and Dean are dating? He's too old." Harry carelessly waved his wand carelessly.

"Harry, it would be the same as you going out with her. She's only a year younger, besides, you went out with Cho and she's older then you are." Hermione looked at him with raised eyebrows. "There shouldn't be a limit to love."

"A limit to love?" Draco, who had been listening thought of Blaise. "What if someone does have a limit but they don't see it?"

"Well I suppose they'll have to work past it and finally realize that love…is freedom. You can do whatever you want and no one should have the right to stop you except yourself." Hermione pointed at her goblet and did a replica of what Professor Flitwick had shown them. A stream of water jetted from the tip of her wand and filled her goblet. She smiled with satisfaction.

"What if the limits aren't their own, someone else limited something. Perhaps it's the other that's being limited." Blaise said slowly. Professor Flitwick looked over at them and they all tried to look busy.

However Hermione was staring at the stagnate water in the goblet. The outline of a woman formed, long hair flowing to her waist. It was a black silhouette, yet it seemed so real… The image began to glow and an eerie screech erupted in her ears. The piece shattered into thousands of pieces and came together to form…a face. The picture was becoming steadily clearer, but then Neville bumped into the table and the goblet tipped over.

She distantly heard his apologize and herself assuring him it was alright.

"Granger?" Blaise prodded her for a response and she snapped back to reality.

"Well limits are like rules," she said in almost a trance like state, "once you understand them they are only there to be broken." She cast the spell again and her goblet filled, but there were no pictures this time.

_GMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGM_

_What could that have meant? Am I hallucinating? _She barely saw anything in her next two classes, so preoccupied with her thoughts. She only comprehended that in Ancient Runes they were talking about theories, and in transfiguration they'd moved on to turning their badgers into wooden chairs. Harry and Draco, along with other sixth year students, continued to blurt out things, and occasionally do something impulsive.

A group of giggling Gryffindor girls passed Harry and winked.

"I hate it when they do that." He grumbled. She noticed Ginny among them, but she wasn't giggling, or even looking, at Harry.

She sighed, it was going to take awhile before they talked again, and with Harry being the Quidditch captain, it might get messy. She was in the middle of drinking some pumpkin juice when the sound of thunder echoed through the Great Hall and a few girls let out shrieks of terror. Hermione's face lit up though, she loved rain.

Professor Dumbledore stood up, assured them that they were all safe in Hogwarts and they should go about their day as usual, but Herbology classes were cancelled. They didn't have Herbology that day so they still had their last two classes, Defense Against the Dark Arts and double Potions. For some reason Hermione felt a bit apprehensive when she though about Potions.

She had good reason to.

**A/N Thanks everyone for reading! I hope that last bit of foreshadowing wasn't completely as awful as I'm hoping it's not. This took awhile longer then expected, but then I hit this huge writer's block at chapter 16 and it was really hard to bypass.**

**Thanks so much for reading! A recommendation, I did three last time but I'll run out of stories so… :D**

**Somewhere I Have Never Traveled- Hatusu (Absolutely wonderful, it was amazing writing and had a great plotline.)**


	13. Midnight Escapade

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything in the Potterverse you recognize and technically I don't really own anything I made up because it was on the basis of J.K Rowling's brilliant ideas.**

Hermione set up her cauldron and waited for Professor Snape to arrive with a bit more impatience then was necessary. Draco propped his feet up on his desk and watched her expectantly.

"What?" She asked finally, when his probing eyes made her uncomfortable.

"Well you look restless; you can set up my cauldron too." Draco replied with a smirk.

"No, are you incapable?" She snapped as Professor Snape walked through the door.

"Miss Granger would you please assist Mister Malfoy with his cauldron, he seems to need some help." Hermione glared furiously at said blonde boy.

"No sir, I am perfectly capable of doing it myself. And I don't need you to try and command people that I can in my life, I use my control at will, I don't need you." Draco said. The room went dead silent.

"Well it's good that someone finally had a go at Snape." Harry's voice echoed in the room.

"I agree, the slimy git could use a bit of insults." Ron said with a horrified look as the words formed on his lips.

"Detention, both of you. We'll discuss this after class."

"What? You didn't give Malfoy detention!" Lavender cried.

"Silence Miss Brown or I will invite you to join them!" Professor Snape snapped.

She looked at them and smiled. "That wouldn't be completely awful."

"That is enough! If there are any more remarks made you will all have to clean the Great Hall with no magic." Obviously the thought of not wanting that overpowered the potions effect, though Draco seemed to have a difficult time keeping his mouth shut.

"Here are your instructions," he flicked his wand and words appeared on the board in front of them. "you are making an antidote and we will be testing it on…" his eyes fell on Hermione as she flipped through her potions book, "Miss Granger." Her head snapped up and her eyes widened. "Get to work."

"Beetle juice…" Hermione snatched a beetle, crushed it and put the correct amount of juice needed into her cauldron. "Dittany…" She nearly ran to the storeroom.

Throughout the whole lesson she would mutter the instruction and hastily fulfill it. Draco lazily added his ingredients but managed to stay in time with her, their potions looked almost identical.

"Potter, does this look like it's supposed to?" Professor Snape hissed. Harry's potion was murky green while the shade described by the book was deep blue.

"No." Harry answered.

"Why?"

"I don't know you're the potion genius here." Harry snapped. "_Sir._" Hermione stifled a gasp as Draco smirked, which he quickly contained.

"Detention Potter, for the rest of the week and 20 points from Gryffindor."

"That's not fair!" Lavender said.

"Silence Miss Brown, this is the last time I will tell you." Professor Snape's eyes flashed.

"Don't tell her what to do!" Terry Boot said, and then blushed deeply.

"10 points from Ravenclaw. A further 50 points from the next person who talks. Have I made myself clear?" Everyone nodded numbly.

"Hear that Potter, no more bad-mouthing for you." Draco smirked and everyone glared at him. He was the only one that could get away with disobeying their Potions professor.

"Draco I said no talking." Professor Snape's eyes darkened. "5 points from Slytherin."

Their jaws dropped. It was, possibly, the first time anyone had ever heard him take points from Slytherin. Draco stared dumbly at his teacher. _Right, he's still mad about earlier. Right._

"Now get back to work."

Draco added the next ingredient and felt a soft breeze pass by. He looked up in surprise, Professor Snape never opened the windows. Their teacher was talking to Nott, but the window beside them was shut, as were all the windows in the room. He turned back and saw Pansy, a good potions student, haphazardly dumping potion ingredients into her steaming cauldron.

"Pansy," Draco began, "you aren't supposed to-"

"Draco stop telling me what to do! I'm not a doll and do not serve your father." She glared but did not look at him. He thought of saying something more, but thought better of it.

"Does this look blue enough?" Hermione asked with genuine concern. Draco looked in her cauldron and was slightly miffed to see that her potion was the _exact _color the instructions described.

"Granger are you trying to make everyone else look completely stupid compared to you and your super intelligent brain? You've already managed to accomplish that so why must you continue showing me that I have an inferior mind compared to you?" She looked at him and opened her mouth to argue, thought over what he'd said, and closed it. With a slight smile she turned away and went back to work.

"I hope no one saw that." Draco muttered.

"Five points from Gryffindor." Professor Snape said as he breezed by.

"That's rubbish!" Harry exclaimed.

"Another five points." He said evilly. Harry was about to say something but Ron kicked him under their table and he glared furiously.

"There will be no violence in this classroom. Five points Weasley, and you too Potter, for engaging in it."

"You conniving son of a bitch." Harry hissed. The people that had not been watching froze and turned to the disruption.

"Potter, that is enough." Snape's nostrils flared. "You have been treated royally for too long now that I suppose the idea that you are special has been playing around in your pathetic mind. Just like your father you have an over inflated ego and expect people to fall all over themselves to serve you. Take a look at where he is now."

"SHUT UP!" Harry bellowed. Hate crackled in the air around him and his eyes thundered. Quite a few people were looking at him fearfully, having never experienced his full temper. "My father was more of a man then you'll ever be. And he didn't go groveling to Voldemort so he could kiss the filthy bastard's feet."

A series of gasps were heard around the room. Draco watched the procession with rapt attention; Harry looked very foreboding and powerful when he was that mad.

"How dare you talk to me that way, Potter." Professor Snape spat. "Your parents were pathetic and weak; they didn't deserve to continue living."

"I'm sure you feel quite accomplished that they're dead. It's your fault isn't it?" Harry's body was shaking with suppressed rage and his jaw was clenched so tightly a vein in his forehead was visible. Suddenly one of the knives from his potions kit levitated and shot towards Professor Snape. Hermione let out a shrill shriek as their professor stepped swiftly to the side and the knife embedded itself in the ingredients cupboard. It went right through the door and they heard the sound of breaking glass.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted. "Potter sit down right now! Under the circumstances I cannot dismiss you from class. Control yourself before you put someone else's life in jeopardy!"

Ron pulled Harry down beside him and muttered something to him. Harry took a few deep breaths and unclenched his fists. There were small cuts in his palm from his nails.

"Now," Professor Snape began in a cold voice, "we will now be testing one of your antidotes on, as I said before, Miss Granger." Hermione ladled some of her potion into a glass when Professor Snape's grin widened eerily. "No, we won't be using yours."

His eyes scanned the room and rested on Pansy. "Miss Parkinson will you be so kind?"

Pansy mimicked Hermione's actions, except her potion was nothing like the bushy haired Gryffindor. Instead of being very dense it was incredibly thin and a watery red instead of blue. Hermione's eyes widened when she saw it and opened her mouth.

"Hold your tongue Miss Granger." He made her sit down on a stool in the front of the classroom and lifted the poison to the light. Even though they couldn't see it, the sight made many shiver. He placed it at Hermione's lips, looked straight at Harry and tipped it so she swallowed its contents.

Something nearly transparent ran down her chin but the next second it was gone. They waited with bated breath for about 10 seconds and then Hermione's eyes flew to the back of her head. Her mouth began frothing and she let out a high pitched chilling scream. Draco felt sick. Pansy would give her the antidote soon…

But she didn't.

Hermione started thrashing and fell off the chair to the floor.

"Pansy!" Blaise shouted.

"Give her the damn antidote!" Harry and Ron yelled. Pansy stood about a meter away from Hermione, and seemed to fighting some sort of battle. She kept extending her hand and then withdrawing it again.

"Parkinson!" Harry roared.

Draco was frozen to his seat, he could only watch Hermione. _She can't die…she just can't die. _Fear clutched his heart, Pansy wasn't going to give it to her, she was going to let her die…

"Pansy! Give it to her! Tell her she can give it to her!" Draco shouted. The class was in hysterics. Neville was rooted to his chair watching with a horrified expression. In fact it looked like his face when the imposter-Moody had performed the Cruciatus Curse in front of them. Someone was crying, but he didn't waste time to figure out who it was.

"Miss Parkinson, if you may." Professor Snape said calmly. Pansy stepped forward, crouched down, and tilted a much of the potion as she could into Hermione's mouth. With a small splash a few drops landed beside Hermione's head. Red splashes…almost transparent red splashes. That was when it hit him. Pansy had just given her a second dose. He stared in horror at the back of the girl that had once been his friend. The screaming went up an octave and her movements became jerkier.

Then it stopped and she went limp.

"Nooo!" Draco grabbed some of his potion in a glass and leapt over his desk, vaguely aware of Harry and Ron running forward. He knelt beside her and pulled her into a sitting position. In a flash he lowered the glass to her lips and emptied it. _No no no no no, this isn't happening. _Her face was so white…

"Don't die Granger. Please, if you don't die I'll…" he wracked his brain for something Hermione would deem good enough. "I'll never call you mudblood again." There was no response, had he really expected one? Had he really wanted one? _Yes. _More then anything he had ever wanted, he wanted her to live. Even under the circumstances he couldn't help but think of how strange it was that he _really_ wanted something. Occasionally he thought it would be good to have something, but he always got it so there wasn't much time for him to develop a desire for it. But suddenly, as of now, he wanted her to be alive and be a know-it-all, one of the quirks that usually annoyed him. To hear her worry over the color of her perfect potion…

A bit of color returned to her cheeks and her breathing started up again, but it was very light. Her eyelids fluttered but didn't open. Draco stood up and looked at Pansy. A look of horror kept flashing across her face, and she seemed to be pretty close to tears, but the thing Draco noticed the most was her eyes. When her look of horror was gone they were glassy and unfocused. And then she collapsed. Draco knew immediately what was wrong.

The world spun before his eyes and blood roared in his ears. He stumbled over to his desk and leaned on it for support. Everyone was crowded around Hermione and Pansy so they didn't notice. The last thing he could comprehend was that Hermione was alive.

_GMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMG_

Draco awoke to see Professor Snape looming over him. When his teacher saw that he was awake he straightened up quickly, allowing Draco to see that he was laying on a bed in the Hospital Wing.

"Draco, you're awake." He stated.

"Obviously, my eyes are open and I'm speaking in sentences." Draco snapped and then rubbed his head, he had a headache.

"Is that any way to speak to your teacher?" Professor Snape looked at him coolly.

"You almost let a student kill another student and you're telling me I treat _you _badly?" Draco let out a bitter chuckle.

"Miss Parkinson was completely out of my control." He replied silkily. Draco narrowed his eyes.

"That's why she gave Granger another dose of _poison _right after _you _told her. You're the _potions _professor, there's no way you _couldn't_ have known what Pansy's potion was."

Abruptly he pulled the bed hangings around Draco's bed. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" Draco asked.

"Save her. Give her the antidote." Professor Snape said. "Now keep it down."

Draco had no intentions of keeping it down. "Because she didn't deserve to die! I didn't _want _her to die. Since when did killing innocent people become recreation? You just _stood _there."

As soon as he said it, it hit him. Killing people for recreation, that was something he was going to have to get used to.

"Draco, I can't discuss this with you here. Floo your father and talk to him about it." Code for don't ever bring this up again. He slipped a bottle out of his sleeve and handed it to him. "You inhaled the poison's fumes. This should help."

Then he left. Draco examined the potion and discovered it to be a very strong potion for light headedness that he knew the Hospital Wing didn't give out. But this time the special treatment made him feel bitter, not smug. He drank half of it and then hid it under his pillow as Madame Pomfrey came out of her office.

"Poor girl." She said sadly as she looked at Pansy, who was still unconscious on her bed and had shown no signs of waking up since she'd been placed there, unlike Hermione who had muttered a few words and occasionally opened her eyes.

Hermione fought to remember what had happened, and why Pansy and Draco were hospitalized as well. Snape had said they'd be using Pansy's antidote…she'd recognized it to be the poison but he'd made her keep quiet…pain…images swam before her with portions of sentences.

_Pansy, glassy eyed…Snape sneering…Blaise yelling… "Don't die Granger"… worried faces…tears… "I'll never call you mudblood again"…Harry and Ron looking utterly terrified…pain, so strong, so excruciating, like her insides were being ripped out…_

Her eyes flew open and she screamed. Draco sat bolt upright and looked over at Hermione. She was thrashing about and clawing at her skin.

Madame Pomfrey rushed over and held down Hermione's head so she didn't cause any lasting damage, any _more._ Draco tried not to think about that. When she finally went silent and dissolved into gasps Madame Pomfrey let go and patted her head gently. When she glanced over and saw Draco staring she looked away.

Just then Harry and Ron rushed through the door, soaking wet and muddy.

"What do you think you're doing?" Snapped Madame Pomfrey.

"Herbology was put back on because the storm let up a little, but it's still pouring outside." Ron mumbled. Madame Pomfrey waved her wand with a furious glare. The mud and water disappeared and the boys were dry and clean.

Ron looked at Hermione with eyes filled with sadness and sat down in the chair beside her bed. He gently stroked her hand and murmured, "not again 'Mione."

Harry followed Madame Pomfrey further away from Ron. "What's wrong with her?" He asked softly.

"Well she was under the influence of one of the most deadly potions created. Why Severus would do that is beyond me, the antidote is beyond seventh year experience." She muttered. "Many people call it the liquid Cruciatus curse. It can drive you mad, you fell like your body is being ripped to pieces and you're being detached from your soul. The longer you're influenced, the worse condition you're in."

"But she was only under for about three minutes, so she'll be okay right?" Harry insisted.

"She should be..."

"She should…" Harry echoed faintly.

"Side effects include seizures where they relive moments where the pain is at its peak. They can become very physical and she might try to hurt herself in attempt to escape the pain."

"That doesn't mean she'll…" Harry couldn't bring himself to say it.

"No, it doesn't. Most people that have been under the potion have been tortured, so we don't know the extent of what was experienced. There are very low chances that she'll die. We don't know how long she'll be in this state so healing could take a while, or it could take a short period of time."

Harry went over and sat down beside Ron and relayed what Madame Pomfrey had said in and undertone. Madame Pomfrey shooed them away fifteen minutes later.

He sat there with nothing to do and then noticed Hermione stirring. Quick as a flash he slipped the other half of the potion into the glass beside her as she sat up weakly.

"What's going on?" He voice was raspy. She reached a shaking hand out and lifted the glass.

"Here let me help you with that." Madame Pomfrey rushed over and held the glass to her lips, letting her drink the whole thing. Hermione's eyes widened after she drank it, obviously from the burning sensation in her throat.

"Now is there anything you'd like?" She rearranged pillows around Hermione's slim frame so she could sit up comfortably.

"No I'm…okay." Her voice was soft. "Is it really raining? I love the rain."

Madame Pomfrey shushed her and gave her a sleeping potion and she drifted back to sleep.

Draco sat there wishing he had something to do. If Blaise came in he'd ask him to pick him some books up from the library. Shouldn't he have been with Harry though? Unless he'd been too chicken and waited outside. And where was Seamus? Shouldn't he visit his girlfriend in the hospital wing?

"Can I go to the library?" Draco asked as Madame Pomfrey checked on Pansy.

"What do you need?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"Books! Why else would I want to go the library?" Draco snapped.

"You're unwell."

"I'm fine!"

She ran a small checkup and found that he was, indeed, fine. She put that to the fact that he'd only inhaled some of the fumes.

"Fine, you have ten minutes and if you are not back I won't let you go for three days." She warned.

He pulled his shoes on and dashed to the library. Everyone he passed in the hallways stared rudely; no doubt rumor had spread about what had happened. He took a short cut to avoid major traffic areas and reached the library quickly.

He picked out a few books he'd been longing to read and carried them over to check them out. One particular book he saw caught his eye, '_Hogwarts: A History_.'

There was usually a long wait for this book; people thought it contained information of the secret passageways hidden in Hogwarts. They'd fall asleep by the end of the first page, then tell their friends they'd read the whole book but wouldn't tell them anything. So then their friends would check it out, and so on. Draco snatched it and added it to his pile.

Madame Pomfrey eyed him when he came in but said nothing, leaving him content to sit on his bed and read '_Spells You Wish You'd Known Then'. _ He practiced a few but got told off when the paper he was trying to make attack a flower decided Madame Pomfrey was a better target.

Hermione hadn't had anymore seizures and by 7:00 that night she was awake and eating. Pansy, however, hadn't moved.

"_Hogwarts: A History? _That's my favourite book do you mind if I read it?" Hermione asked when she caught sight of the book. Draco tossed the book to her and she caught it deftly.

"Thanks," she said and flipped through the pages with the expression of one who had just received a particularly tasteful present. "Have you ever read it?" She asked.

"Yeah, once in our second year."

Hermione's expression grew dreamy. "It was the first book I ever read from the Wizarding world, I wanted to read up on the school I was going to. I enjoyed it so much I read it again."

Draco shrugged, "it wasn't too bad."

She gave him a curious look, "you know not many people actually _read _this book."

"I'm not like many people." Draco sneered.

"No you're not." She agreed.

"Yeah well you're not like many people either, not everyone is an insufferable-know-it-all." Then he immersed himself in the book. Hermione was confused, to say the least. Had they just had a relatively nice conversation, then Draco had become moody and cold. Why couldn't he open up and not hide all the time?

The book occupied her until Madame Pomfrey made them change into their pajamas and turned the lights out. Each time she read it something jumped out at her that she hadn't noticed before.

Madame Pomfrey soon performed a checkup over Hermione. "Much better." She muttered as she closed the door to her office. The room was bathed in moonlight from the closed windows, allowing Hermione to get a nice view of the pounding rain.

She tried to sleep but each time lightening illuminated the grounds she longed to be outside and feel the gentle rain soak her through. She scrambled out of bed and shook Draco.

"I'm awake!" He hissed. "You're lucky I didn't take your head off!"

"Malfoy we're going outside!" Hermione could barely contain her excitement. "Hurry up!"

"Are you mad?" Draco whispered, "since when was there a 'we'?"

"Are you going to let me go alone?" She retorted.

"Yes."

"Well, you wouldn't try to take advantage of me in then night would you?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No…"

She smiled deviously. "Madame Pomfrey doesn't know that."

All the way down to the doors by the Great Hall that led outside Draco complained about how un Gryffindor-like Hermione was being until she reminded him that they had some kind of magical connection so one of them couldn't go very far alone anyway.

"I hope it's not cold out there." Hermione said, a quick glance back showed Draco was only wearing boxers. They crept through the shadows and Draco opened the big doors reluctantly because Hermione couldn't remove the heavy bolt and they hadn't thought to bring their wands.

"I'll leave it open a bit so we can get back in and no one will notice that it's open." Draco said, inside his head thinking that he was, under no circumstances, going outside.

"Ready?" Hermione asked.

"Sure." Draco said, exasperated.

"Go!" She ran into the rain and cried out in delight. It was incredibly cold, being so late in October, but it was nice. Draco didn't move.

"Coming." She cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows.

"I really don't think so." Hermione shrugged and turned away. It was so dark that there was only a small sliver of light from the crack in the door. Suddenly she turned around. Grabbed his hands and pulled him into the onslaught of rain.

He cursed loudly and tried to pull away but she held on and began to twirl around with him. After about 30 seconds she released him and turned alone, arms stretched out, palms up, face to the sky. Sopping wet hair plastered to her glowing face. She stopped and sighed, hugging herself with a smile.

Draco stared at her, a strange expression on his face. "Don't stop spinning, you look beautiful when you do that." He was unaware of what he was saying until he'd already said it.

"What?" She asked softly. Had he just said she was beautiful?

"N-nothing. Let's go to the lake." He took off, pausing every so often so she could catch up a bit and they didn't fly at each other. She treaded slower then he on the wet grass, so she arrived about a minute later then him. He stood on the edge of the water, the full moon was hidden behind clouds.

"It's beautiful, isn't it, the moon." He asked as she came over to stand beside him. His head was tilted upward as he gazed at it.

Hermione agreed, but it was a terrible beauty. She knew that at that very movement, Remus Lupin was a werewolf, as were many other innocent people and bloodthirsty scavengers. There's been an increase in werewolf attacks since Lord Voldemort's return and it was awful to read about young children being bitten.

"Have you ever seen anything so terrible, restricted and frightening that it's stunning?" She asked.

"Yes," Draco didn't move, "you." Hermione's heart nearly stopped. _What? _

"Well the terrible anyway, and I suppose technically you're restricted." He said quickly.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically. There was an awkward silence.

"Do you feel like there are too many misunderstood things in the world? Take thunderstorms for example. They only see the bad that comes with them, never the good that might be harder to find, and no one bothers to look beneath. And if the previous thunderstorm was really bad they assume that the next one will follow in it's footsteps, even if it doesn't want to." Hermione could tell Draco wasn't really talking about thunderstorms.

"No one is making you do something you don't want to, there are other options open. We'd accept you if you wanted to come with us, we could help you." She put a hand on his arm.

He yanked his arm away from her, "what are you talking about? I-" He stopped and looked at the castle. "We're being watched."

Shivers wracked her body. "How do you know?"

"Do you have to know everything? Stop questioning me! My life isn't a book that you can read whenever you want, Granger." His shield was up again.

"Do you always have to be so cold?" Hermione asked, "Can't you trust someone?"

"If I ever trust someone it won't be you." He turned without looking at her and walked up to the castle. She sighed and trailed after him. Things were much lighter inside, and as Hermione walked behind Draco she noticed faint crisscrosses across his back. The longest one started on his left shoulder, crossed his back, and circled to his front.

"Malfoy." She whispered, horrified.

"What?" He snapped and whirled around. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open.

"What?" Hermione looked down and blushed crimson. Her white hospital nightie was now more the translucent variety.

She crossed her arms over her chest, "don't look at me!" He turned away quickly and walked as fast as he could to the Hospital Wing. Neither of them had their wands so she had to wait until they were inside before she was able to dry her clothes. Draco did the same and they both climbed into their dry beds. Hermione stifled a sneeze as she snuggled into the sheets.

_GMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGM_

The next day Hermione was diagnosed with a cold. Draco was perfectly fine, and he thought that both of their conditions probably had to do with Snape's potion.

"I shouldn't have left the window open." Madame Pomfrey muttered to herself as Hermione sneezed.

The two sixth years looked at each and tried not to laugh. They looked away quickly, thinking about how they shared a secret together, and then about the almost pleasant moment they'd just had.

"You know you still look like a beaver when you laugh." Draco said.

In exchange Hermione gave him a very rude gesture behind Madame Pomfrey's watchful eyes.

**A/N Wow I got this one typed up relatively fast. There isn't actually much to say but I have a favor to ask all you guys. :D**

**I got a review saying that my story got pretty confusing at times. I'd like everyone to give my story a rating out of 10 in their review. Take into consideration grammar, spelling, the plot, characterization, how fast(or slow) their relationship is developing, and such. Please tell me how the story is as a whole, and if you want to, break it into pieces and say which places were strong, weak, and effective.**

**Please please please take the above into consideration when you review! Thanks!**


	14. Oh, The Drama

**Disclaimer-If Harry Potter was mine, I would use the money I got to make a real, live, Draco Malfoy and keep him all for myself. grins evilly But I might've shared him with my reviewers. **

Hermione and Draco were released right after dinner, mostly due to the fact that Madame Pomfrey was convinced that there was something wrong with Hermione because she seemed perfectly fine. She probably would've kept them another day if Hermione hadn't complained about all the class time they'd missed. Being kept in there had put them both in a foul mood, and as they walked through the hall they were both scowling.

"Do you have any idea how much I'm going to have to catch up on? I've spent so much time in the Hospital Wing this year…"She trailed off with a sigh.

"You really don't have a life, do you?" Draco snorted. "I've skipped loads of classes and I still have the second highest marks in the class."

Hermione couldn't help but smirk. "And you might have the highest if you didn't skip. Now let's go talk to the teachers, I bet Ron and Harry thought they were doing me a favor by not getting me my homework."

Draco smirked, "we're not going anywhere for schoolwork, Granger. I have a reputation to uphold."

"Your reputation is not one you really want to uphold, unless you want to be known as an arrogant jackass." Hermione snapped.

"Granger, that's the reputation known to _you_. I have many, and you haven't experienced the full extent of them." He smirked slyly and she felt a blush creeping up her neck. "So we're going back to my dormitory whether you like it or not."

Hermione stopped, hands on hips. "One, I don't have to do what you say. Two, I thought there was no 'we'. And three, it's not just your dormitory."

"Well more of it should belong to me." Draco protested.

"Why?" She argued.

"Because I'm a pureblood and you're a mudblood," he said. Her jaw dropped. He'd _promised! _ When he'd saved her he'd promised he'd never call her mudblood again. People flooded the hallway coming from dinner and they weaved around the two as they stood, motionless.

Draco opened his mouth but without a word Hermione turned on her heel and went straight to their dormitory.

"Pine fresh." She grabbed the doorknob and tried to pull the door open. It stayed firm and she repeated the password.

"Nice going Granger, you broke the door." Draco leaned against the wall.

"The password was probably just changed, this isn't my fault!" She retorted and knocked on the door.

"Don't you think we may have been informed of this, seeing as we-I live here?"

"Malfoy will you stop being so immature! You may not want to admit it, but we do live in the same place, so yes, we live _together._" Hermione said harshly.

"Piss off Granger." Draco snapped. He pushed her out of the way and banged on the door.

"Now you want me to piss off," she muttered, "feeling bad now that you realized you kept me alive? Regret not letting me die, do you?"

Draco's felt his face get hot and was furious with himself, he didn't usually blush. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't want you dead, and I don't regret saving you."

She snorted. "Don't you?"

"No. As much as I hate to admit it, I care about you, Granger. I fucking care about you." He glared at the wall.

The door swung open as her jaw dropped and hit her in the face, knocking her back against the wall. "Sorry Granger…" Blaise's voice trailed off as he took in Draco's furious glare.

"The password changed, it's," Blaise cracked a grin, '"two halves equals a whole'. It's a bit long, but Dumbledore always was a nutter."

Hermione rubbed her nose and grimaced. _I really want a bath, with lots and lots of bubbles. _So without looking at Draco she hurried past Blaise and gathered everything she'd need from her room. Quick as a flash she was in the bathroom and turned the hot water on, mixing her own concoction of strawberries, vanilla and peppermint so the bubbles smelled nice. Then she climbed in.

All the muscle cramps she'd developed disappeared as the water enveloped her body. _Why does he insist on being so stubborn? Why can't he be nice for once? _She thought of what she was supposed to find out for the Order, and felt ashamed to realize she should put more effort into it then she already had.

_I suppose if he's saying everything on impulse, I could figure out a way to word everything so that he could say something while unintentionally answering my question… He'd say the first thing that came to mind…but what if his first instinct is to lie? _She lathered her hair with shampoo and massaged it into her scalp. _I don't see how I can get him to trust me if I'm always prying into his life while he has no real choice as to what he says back to me. Today was a fine example of that._

'_I fucking care about you.' _She couldn't help snickering a bit at that. _Way to be overdramatic. But still…he cares about me? That's strange. I wasn't expecting anything like that to ever happen. Maybe he was lying… no that doesn't seem probable, why would he bother? _The thought that Draco Malfoy cared about her…it was an interesting feeling. She wasn't quite sure what she was felt about it.

She dunked under the water and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. _Maybe I've done something to make him care about me. Even the fact that he doesn't want me dead is a pretty big step. But then, I certainly don't hate him enough anymore to want him dead. He isn't so bad sometimes … Didn't Blaise mention something about the summer? I wonder what it was, maybe he put the memory in his penseive._

Her oxygen craving lungs screamed and she resurfaced and pushed her sopping wet hair out of her face. _That would be a complete and total betrayal of trust. It's not like there's any trust in our relationship, but there's going to have to be. _The thought of any trust between her and Draco was so absurd, but it might be possible.

Seamus's face swam before her and she realized how long it had been since they'd talked. The thought of his hand on hers made butterflies take flight in her stomach. She should make a point of going over to talk to him. Unexpectedly she felt a spark of irritation. _Why should I be holding our relationship up? _She dismissed it quickly. _Our relationship isn't even falling apart._

"Granger, hurry up!" Draco banged on the door. She rolled her eyes and dug her book out from underneath her discarded clothes. With a quick charm to make it waterproof, she settled down to read.

Half an hour later Hermione left the bathroom feeling calmed and rejuvenated. Draco gave her a sour look and stormed to the bathroom, exclaiming with disgust that he would smell like a girl when he came out.

She stashed her stuff in her bedroom and came back down with her homework. Harry had Quidditch practice and Blaise had to be there, so she was alone. They had a transfiguration essay due the coming Tuesday, so she set to work finishing it up. With that done she answered the questions they'd been assigned for Charms.

The water was still running when she finished them. _How long can he stay in the water for, he'll turn into a prune. _The water stopped. _Ah, there it is._

She wandered over to the window. It was raining hard, but there were no blobs flying around the Quidditch pitch. She saw the weather beaten Gryffindor team making their way up to the castle with what must have been Blaise bringing up the rear.

"Malfoy, Harry and Blaise are coming up so you'd better hurry and get out soon." She called. There was no answer but she noted that he appeared as the door to the Common room closed.

Blaise inhaled deeply and his eyebrows shot up as he Draco standing by the open bathroom door.

Harry snorted. "Who would have thought Malfoy used scented bubble bath."

"Granger insisted on using the stupid bubble bath, not me." Draco snapped.

"You make it sound like you two were together."

"We weren't!" Hermione and Draco exclaimed in unison.

Harry was edging towards the bathroom and with a lopsided smile in Hermione's direction he dashed in and slammed the door.

"Awww…" Blaise groaned and turned to the floor. "Damn…"

"If you don't watch Potter he'll pull a fast one on you." Draco said calmly with a bit of disgust.

"Okay, well since he's not here-"

"Are you afraid of him?" Hermione asked with an amused smile. "The way you said that sounded…funny."

"Were you watching him and Snape? I would not want to get on his bad side, the way he was talking, like he wanted nothing more then to kill Snape right then, that's creepy." Blaise shrugged. "What's their deal anyway? Snape looked more then mad, and he and Potter were really getting at it."

Hermione sighed, "well they've had problems from the beginning because of Harry's parents, it's hard to explain."

"Problems? That's a bit of an understatement." Draco snorted. "I thought Potter hated _me._"

"Well…"

"Anyway, I think they've got some moves but we could definitely beat them. They have this thing called the Tree Frog Jump whe-"

"You can't leak out their strategies!" Hermione protested. Both boys turned to look at her.

"Why not?"

"Because then I'll tell Harry about all yours!" They stared at her, Draco had been planning a whole bunch of attack points over the summer and if she told all their progress as a team was lost.

"How do we know you haven't already told?" Draco asked.

"Because I didn't think you were going to play dirty so I didn't say anything." Both Slytherins snorted at how naïve she was. She placed her hand, palm down, in the air. "Put your hand on mine."

"Why?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "A spell so that if one of us breaks the deal the others will know, do you think I'd go on just your word? How stupid do you think I am?"

"Not very." Draco said instantly.

"Well, erm, just put your hands in."

The two boys seemed to be considering it, before they hesitantly overlapped her hand with theirs. She muttered a quick spell and said brightly, "it's done!"

"If one of us says anything, what will happen?" Draco asked.

"Did you see Marietta at the end of last year?" Hermione grinned evilly.

"That was you? Bloody brilliant!" Blaise exclaimed as Draco shifted uncomfortably, he remembered breaking up DA.

Hermione shrugged, "maybe next time she'll think before she snitches on a secret organization, the little traitor." Marietta had transferred to Beauxbatons for her last year in school, though the thought of her still irritated Hermione.

"Hermione I hope I'm not interrupting anything important, not that anything involving Malfoy could be that important, but Ron told us to meet him in the Gryffindor Common Room." He stood beside the open bathroom door with fogged up glasses and his hair spiky and wet, he'd just toweled it dry.

"Oh, yeah!" Because of their partnerships, time with Ron (or anyone else for that matter) was on a very restricted level. Besides, there's only so much talking you can do while the person you're talking to is shoveling food in their mouth and probably can't hear you over their sloppy eating.

"No Slytherin has ever been in the Gryffindor tower, this has possibilities." Draco said.

Harry stiffened as words flew from his mouth. "Taken you this long, huh? Ron and I got into the Slytherin Common Room in our second year." Blaise's jaw dropped and Draco's eyes widened. "Pureblood? Such an original password."

"We'll make sure that they don't see where we go and hear what the password is." Hermione cut in before Harry could continue his taunting. Taking Gryffindor's biggest rivals into the heart of their den wasn't a very good idea.

"You're not dragging me through the school." Draco snapped.

"Yes we are, there's no other way we can get there if you don't come, you've seen the consequence of separating." Harry said as Hermione remembered flying through the air.

"Harry it doesn't _really_ matter if we let them see where we're located." She wasn't really siding _with_ them, she was siding _near_ them. "It's not like they can get in if the don't the password."

"You're siding with _them_?" Harry asked as Draco and Blaise said, "you're siding with _us_?"

Hermione sighed, "not with you, by you. I just don't want to stand here and argue with them all night. We can only stay out until 10:00 and any later Filch will catch us." It did make sense, but the two Slytherins were feeling disagreeable.

"Why should we, what do we get out of it?" Draco crossed his arms.

"Ever the Slytherin." Hermione muttered. "I do seem to recall a certain party I was dragged to and did not report about the alcohol consumption that occurred there." She almost winced, painful memories.

"Granger you were too drunk to do anything and you'd be in trouble for drinking too. That was as much for our sake as for yours." Draco reminded her evenly.

"Look, you've got three options. The first, you agree to come along willingly and we're even. The second, you don't and you owe Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. The third, you refuse to come and we leave anyway. Eventually we'll get there, not matter how many times we have to collide in mid air." She stood, hands on hips.

"Fine, we'll come, and we're even." Draco snarled and stalked out the door. Harry led them to the Gryffindor tower though, much to Hermione's chagrin, he insisted on doubling back a few times and taking unnecessary turns.

They arrived at the portrait of the fat lady and she watched the Slytherins suspiciously. Hermione whispered the password while the Slytherins stood as far away as possible and the portrait hole swung open.

"This doesn't look anything like the Slytherin common room." The sound of Draco's voice filled the room with silence.

Within a second it seemed that everyone in the Gryffindor house was standing with their wands pointed straight at Draco and Blaise. Draco smirked at the them and a few of the girls visibly melted, whereas Blaise leaned against the wall and surveyed then all casually, melting the rest of them.

"Get out!" A boy named Michael snapped.

"We're here with Potty and Granger." Accusing eyes shifted to Hermione and Harry.

"You brought them here?" Colin asked incredulously. Wands lowered, no one was going to point a wand at their house hero.

"It's not like other people didn't bring their partners here." Harry answered, ignoring the few people that still stared at him.

"But they weren't Slytherins."

"Look are you going to turn us away because we're associated with Slytherins?" Hermione said, exasperated.

Just then Ron walked in with Morag. He saw Draco and whipped his wand out. "Malfoy."

Hermione resisted rolling her eyes. "Ron, obviously if we come they're coming too." He slowly lowered his wand.

"One toe Malfoy, one toe."

"Actually Weasel, I have 10." Draco drawled.

"Sod off, Malferret." Ron growled.

"Ron, Malfoy, stop it." Hermione stepped between them and gestured for Ron to follow Harry over to the armchairs by the fire.

"Someday I'm going to kill Malfoy." Ron muttered.

Hermione frowned with disapproval. "Ron, this is so immature. Can't you two put it behind you?"

Harry looked at her with disbelief, "you expect us to forget what a prat Malfoy is?"

"I think you should try to get on better grounds with him, maybe call a truce or something."

"Why?" Ron snorted.

"Because," Hermione said calmly, "have you not noticed what is approaching us? The war! Believe it or not we need as many allies as possible, and if Malfoy joined us we might get more of the Slytherin population."

It was Harry's turn to frown. "Hermione it's one thing to request that we do something, but its another to practically shove it down our throats when you've done nothing yourself."

He apologized but the words still stung. Did it really seem as though she hadn't made any attempt to get on better terms with him? Well she'd tried…hadn't she? They'd done the movie, and he'd saved her from the Devil's Snare, and his blindness, and…But those were all under abnormal circumstances.

"You know Harry you're right. I shouldn't be trying to make you two be doing things I haven't tried to do." Harry was visibly relieved. His quick apologies was one of the main differences between him and Ron, Ron was too hardheaded.

"So have you heard anything from the Order?" Ron asked quietly after glancing around the room.

Harry's expression changed from regret to frustration. "All Lupin will tell me is that they're somehow working on a project in the school, and then news on werewolf attacks we've read about in the newspaper. What could they possibly be doing here?"

"Maybe one of them is using a polyjuice potion and is among us right now." Ron narrowed his eyes and glared suspiciously at a group of first years by the fire, who promptly hurried to their rooms.

Hermione coughed nervously, "Ron honestly that's ridiculous. None of them have the time."

Ron shrugged but Harry looked thoughtful. "They might have a student working for them here, seen anyone dodgy lately?"

"Well there's that Eva Spint-"

"Ron do you really think they would trust someone they hardly know?" Hermione said in a condescending tone.

The red haired boy glanced at her. "What is it that you're not telling us?"

"Nothing, but the Order doesn't have to explain themselves to three sixteen year olds. They can do as they please and I find your lack of appreciation for everything they're doing disrespectful."

"Sorry McGonagall." Ron rolled his eyes at Harry.

"Ron you are such a prat!" Hermione blushed.

"Yeah well you're overreacting. We have a right to know what's going on."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "Ron did it ever occur to you that there are some things worth not knowing? Maybe the things they're keeping from you are being kept for a good reason."

"Keeping from _us_? Are you not referring to yourself in this?"

"Well I-"

"What do you know? Why would they tell you and not us?" Ron demanded.

"Keep your voice down!" She hissed, "I don't know any more then you. I just think that there's no point in pushing for horrible truths when I'm sure we have enough awful things coming up in our lives."

"What?" Ron asked as Harry nodded.

"Well the war is coming up, do you really think that everyone is going to live? We're no invincible, I could die, you could die, Harry could die. We've already seen quite a few people die already."

Ron opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to think up something to say.

"You are so full of yourself, do you hear Harry pressing for information? Maybe because he's already experienced more hardship then anyone else and I don't think he's happy about it. Do you think he's glad that his parents were killed, what about Sirius? When you lose some important to you your priorities are set straight. Maybe you should set them straight before you going around demanding things like you're the queen of England." She stood up abruptly and left. Draco followed her slowly through the castle and trailed after her as she made her way to the side of the lake, coincidently the same place they'd been the night before. She sank to the ground with a soft sigh. Then she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. Draco watched emotions flicker in her honey eyes, while not really knowing what to think.

"I have a favor," Hermione said in a raspy voice, "can we try to be pleasant to each other? We don't have to be friends or anything, but if we try not to fight every minute of the bloody day it will easier. Plus you can keep your promise."

"Granger…"

"I know," she hurried on, "sometimes people make promises that they don't keep when they think someone is going to pass away, but I know you can keep it."

"I wish I had that kind of faith in myself." Draco said bitterly. Hermione instinctively placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, but didn't pull away.

"The time will come when you must choose between what is right, and what is easy. I know you'll do what is right." Hermione smiled faintly as she repeated words Harry had been told by their Headmaster. "People believe in you, Malfoy, and they care about you."

Draco shook his head. "You can't be sure."

"Yes I can." She locked eyes with him. "Because I do."

They stayed that way for a long time in silence. Thoughts zoomed through Draco's head a mile a minute and Hermione was simply content to sit there. Eventually they stood up on shaky legs and stumbled through the darkness back to the castle.

They both paused outside their doors. "Goodnight Malfoy." Hermione said.

"Good night." He replied. She closed the door behind her and lingered beside it for a minute. As she turned away she heard the sound of Draco's door closing, he had obviously been hovering too. For some reason that thought made her feel happy.

**A/N Okay it's done! I'm sorry; I posted the last chapter amid so much confusion and everything. The response wasn't magnificent, but I'm glad I got some feedback. Just for the sake of it I'm going to ask for people to give me a rating again, but it you gave me one already, thanks and it's not necessary for you to give me another one. :D**

**I'm going camping with my class tomorrow until Friday but I really wanted to post the next chapter. I should be packing…**

**When you review can you tell me one thing? (Optional of course). Where do you guys live? I, personally, live in Ontario, Canada and I LOVE connecting with people from other places.**


	15. The Big, Black Hole

**A/N Sorry it took so long. See author's note at bottom.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

Hermione awoke with a smile still planted on her face and her thoughts drifting. The coming Sunday they had a Hogsmeade trip as well as their first non-official Quidditch game. Her smile disappeared. She was not going to enjoy being hundreds of feet in the air held up by a broomstick, much less with Draco Malfoy.

But he wouldn't throw her off, she knew that. They had decided to be generally pleasant to each other, or try anyway. She'd have to mention their lack of a beater at breakfast, as well as their lack of practicing. Or she could ask him now.

The smell of lavender, peppermint and strawberries lingered in the cool air. Everyone was probably still sleeping, though it wouldn't surprise her if Harry was up. He often looked tired in the morning so she assumed he wasn't sleeping well.

"Hold on," came Draco's immediately alert reply as she knocked on the door. He opened the door and stood there in pajama pants with tussled hair, looking as thought he'd just woken up. He really was a light sleeper.

"Granger?"

"I thought we should have an early start, there are some things we need to discuss." He looked about to argue so she added, "about Quidditch."

He nodded and closed the door. Hermione wandered around the room and came to a halt at the sofa, where she took a seat. Chester was asleep in his frame, so the only noise was the crackling of the fire. She stared as the flames licked at the wood, caressing it gently but burning it at the same time.

"Turning into Potter, are you?" Hermione jumped at the sound of his voice. He chuckled and sat down opposite her.

"Right. Well let's get right down to business. You realize that our game is this weekend and you haven't scheduled a practice for our team?"

"Damn," Draco swore, "okay I'll book it for tonight and tomorrow morning before breakfast if I can."

Hermione nodded, "I can take care of alerting the other members, and I'll tell them before class or something. I don't have anything on at all today, maybe during lunch? But without Pansy we're short a beater."

Draco looked thoughtful, "we'll just let you take her place."

Her eyes widened, "no! I can't do it."

He raised an eyebrow, "why not?"

"I'm…afraid of heights. Terrified actually." She gave a nervous laugh.

"What?" He stared at her, "but you-you went sky-diving didn't you?"

She sighed, "yes. But only because I didn't feel scared until I was falling, when Matt wasn't there."

Draco frowned. "Who is this Matt guy? You always mention little things about him, is he a muggle?"

She didn't feel like she was talking to Draco Malfoy. She didn't feel the need to be guarded and hide everything away. She didn't feel angry that he was asking her about a personal aspect of her life. She didn't feel like it would hurt to say anything about it anymore. So she told him.

"In the summer our 5th year I met him in the neighborhood I lived in, he was only three blocks away. My friend Jessica was always talking about a handsome guy that had started going to her school, he was about nineteen. When he approached me and said hello I knew it was him because he matched her description perfectly. Everything happened so fast. We started hanging out and then we started dating. He was always so nice to me, and it was such a stressful summer." She took a deep breath.

"He started telling me that we should crazy things to make our lives a bit more exciting. We did things I never would have done alone, or with anyone else. But the way he looked at me and talked took away my fear; I knew he wouldn't let anything hurt me. I also knew I had to prove I was worth being with. He was so perfect and I was so plain. My parents started getting worried when I stayed out late and he would carry me home when I got drunk. I don't even remember some parts we were together, not because I was drunk though. I don't know why."

Draco frowned. This didn't seem normal. It was almost as though he had coerced her into doing things she didn't want to do and make her believe she had to do it.

"Then one day he said 'why don't we go swimming with sharks?' Originally I was terrified. But then he kissed me and I remembered. He wouldn't let me get hurt by anyone or anything. So we went and I almost got killed. But it wasn't his fault. I knew that the reason I was doing this wasn't because of Matt anymore, it was because Harry and Ron used to tease me and say I was boring. But it didn't make sense then. He wanted me to. I was in the hospital for three days and he always visited me. I asked him about it once and he seemed really tense and then left.

"My parents were furious when I got out. I had lied about where I'd gone and had hurt myself. I wasn't allowed to see him anymore and was grounded. I knew they were just worried about me so I obeyed at first. But then I not only wanted to see him, I _needed_ to. They didn't understand so while they were away I called him and pleaded for him to come over at night when they weren't awake. Just hearing his voice soothed me. That night he climbed in my window and apologized to me. He said he wished there was something he could do to make it better. Why not right then?

"I said I was saving myself for the one. I wanted it to be special. With someone I wanted to be with forever. He was hurt. He'd thought I loved him. He said it didn't really matter as long as I cared about him. He told me he did want to be with me forever. So I gave in and we did it. The next day he was gone. I didn't see him for a week and I had this headache. But I didn't need to see him anymore. When I was walking by the beach I saw him in _our_ spot with another girl. She was older then me, and more pretty, and probably willing to do whatever he wanted with her. I felt plain again. And worthless. I started crying and he looked up. Then I ran home. He called me on the phone and told me that we'd been a mistake. I was too young and immature to understand and it was only a summer fling. I never saw him again. Needless to say I was crushed. He'd said he wouldn't let anyone or anything hurt me, but he never said himself.

"My parents didn't quite know the reason I was so upset but they were worried. When the Weasleys owled and invited me for the rest of the summer it was such a relief. When we were at," she paused, "at the Burrow I realized that other people have much bigger problems. Especially when Harry got there. I haven't really thought that much about it since then. The thing is, even when he called me it knew it wasn't his fault. It was mine, for being plain and boring and ugly. Even now when I looked back it doesn't add up. I was fifteen and he took my heart and soul and ripped it to shreds." She sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Granger," he said uncomfortably, "it's not your fault. I don't do the whole sentimental talk thing, but there's one thing I have to say. That guy can waste his life trying to find someone better then you. And in all honesty, he's not going to find her. So don't waste your time crying over his pathetic mistake." _Did you just say that? What the hell is your problem!_

She stared at him for a long moment and sniffed. "Thanks." Her voice was hoarse and laced with pain. Exactly how much had this guy hurt her? Her gaze remained on Draco sitting there, awkward and cautious, and she slowly wrapped her arms around him.

Before he could respond a throat cleared behind them and Hermione sprang back. Harry looked furious and Blaise just look inquisitive.

"Hermione tell me you where not just hugging Ferret." Harry said with his eyes narrowed.

"Should I lie then?" She mumbled, looking at her feet.

"Does he know about," Draco paused, "you know. Everything."

"No." She shook her head.

Harry took a step forward. "You two _cannot_ be seeing each other! Malfoy I told you to never touch her again."

"What?" They both gasped in unison.

Harry looked confused, "you're not seeing each other?

"No!" Draco exclaimed.

"Good. In that case you won't be mad when I kill him." Harry said calmly and started to spring towards Draco. There probably would've been a fight if Blaise hadn't held him back.

"Harry please! He did nothing wrong." She cried, not wanting any sort of confrontation.

"How could you let him touch you?"

"It was just my mind getting carried away, calm down." She admonished, "it didn't mean anything."

He stared at her for a moment and then relaxed, "fine."

"Alright?"

"Alright."

_GMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMG_

Seamus was seated at the Slytherin table beside Goyle, and Hermione took the opportunity to sit down beside him.

"Hey," she murmured as he leaned closer to kiss her.

"Hey," he replied and took one of her hands under the table. "Have you talked to Ginny lately?"

She thought back, when was the last time she'd talked to Ginny? "Relatively, why?"

He lowered his voice, "well she and Dean had a couple fights and Dean wants to know if she still fancies him."

"Why?" She narrowed her eyebrows, "so if she wants to break up with him he can do it first?"

Seamus smiled sheepishly, "something like that."

"Why can't he just talk to her himself?"

Seamus obviously sensed the hard edge to her voice so he tried to backpedal. "She might get the wrong idea."

"And having one of her best friends tell her coward boyfriend private information is going to give her the right one?"

"Dean isn't a coward." Seamus said defensively.

"He's just to chicken to talk to his girlfriend?" She didn't care that she was being unreasonable; Dean needed to communicate through himself to Ginny.

"Yes. I mean no!" Seamus spluttered.

"What's the problem then? That Dean's a little sneak or that he's only concerned with dumping her first?" Her tone was bitter and she saw Draco's eyes flickering towards them.

"Don't talk about him that way!"

"I can talk about him any way I want," she snapped, "and I will too, with Ginny!"

"Fine as long as it's not with me." Seamus stood up and stormed away. With a few quick words from another Slytherin Goyle went chasing after him with his arms full of food.

She sighed and slumped against her chair. Why? They'd just had their first fight and it was pretty much all her fault. It wasn't even about them it was about their friends' relationship.

She wasn't hungry anymore, but ate so that she could focus in class. On the way to double transfiguration she spotted Ginny in the halls. With a quick word to Draco she made her way over to the girl and pulled her aside.

"Ginny how are things with you and Dean?" She asked, not sounding at all casual because she didn't want to be late for class.

The red head shrugged, "not too well. We fight over the stupidest things."

"Such as…?" Hermione prodded.

"Mostly Harry."

"Harry?" She asked surprised, "how often does _Harry _come up in conversations you two have?"

Ginny sighed and rubbed her temples, a habit she picked up from being near Hermione when she was frustrated. "A lot. Dean says I act like I like Harry more then I like him, and he always says things about the relationship I have with him. It's stupid, really, absolutely ridiculous."

Hermione smiled, "yes, preposterous. Well I'll talk to you later okay? I have to run to class."

"Damn!" Ginny started and with a wave dashed down the nearly empty halls to her next class.

She and Draco slipped into the transfiguration classroom and took the seats nearest the door as Professor McGonagall began talking about an upcoming test she was going to make them do. Something slid across her desk and rested in front of her.

_I have to go to the library during lunch. And the owlery._

She frowned. The penmanship was obviously Draco's but he could have asked if she wouldn't mind going.

_What if I can't?_

Draco took the paper and rolled his eyes at her before scribbling a reply.

_I know that you can because you told me this morning. _

She read it over and cursed under her breath.

_Fine. The library. _

"Miss Granger? 5 points from Gryffindor for passing notes. Pay attention." Professor McGonagall scolded and Hermione blushed.

"Sorry Professor." She murmured. Draco was smirking and she had the sudden urge to throw something at him.

"As I was saying…"

Throughout the rest of class Draco sent her notes which she refused to read and tried to absorb everything her teacher was saying. They ate lunch quickly and then headed to the library. Hermione passed Seamus in the hall but avoided his eyes, as he avoided hers.

They walked in silence for a bit, and then Draco spoke. "Granger, about this morning and the past few days…it doesn't…change anything." He struggled to come up with the right words.

"I figured as much." She sighed, "but everything I said was true."

There was a pregnant pause. "Granger I don't need your pity. I wouldn't have told you half those things if-_look at me_." She'd turned away so he couldn't see her distress.

"I said _look at me_." He yanked her around and pulled her inches away from his face, holding her forearms tightly. "If it weren't for this damn potion you wouldn't know anything, and none of what I said is true anyway."

His grip hurt her arm and she whimpered. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," her voice was raspy so she tried again, "yes."

"Good." He released her and she rubbed her arms to get the circulation going.

"Malfoy I trusted you with things few people know about. Why can't you trust me? People confide in others for comfort, not everything is about using what people say to your advantage." She banished the last trace of fear she'd felt towards him and then with a fleeting glance at him took the last few strides into the owlery.

He followed her with a frown. "For comfort? How is it comforting to know that someone knows all your secrets?"

"That's where the trust comes in." She looked around for an owl and her eyes rested on the eagle owl she knew belonged to Draco. Ironically it was on the same perch as Hedwig and the two seemed to be getting along, but Draco called to it and it soared over.

"But if you fight with them they could blackmail you." He protested.

"That's why you tell people you're friends with, or close to. Haven't you ever confided in a friend?" He didn't respond as he finished tying his letter to his owl's leg.

"Has anyone ever confided in you? Blaise, maybe?"

His eyes narrowed. "Why would you say that?"

She flinched at his harsh tone. "You two just seem like pretty good friends."

"Yeah well, things aren't always what they seem." He threw his owl out the window with more force then necessary and it took off flying with indignant chirps. They watched it fly, both lost in thought.

"Right, well. The library." She muttered. "Let's go."

They found a secluded corner and Draco looked around for books involving fear of flying. Catching on to what he was doing she joined in and they searched through a few rows before returning to the table and settling down to work.

Three books and 45 minutes later Hermione sighed and put her book down. "Lunch is over in 15 minutes, we should go."

He looked up, "did you find anything?"

"Nothing that will help us. Did you?"

He nodded, "a charm that never actually developed into a real spell, it only works if the spell is stronger then your fear. But I suppose it's the only thing we've got."

"Will it work though, how strong is it?" She asked worriedly, only ever having experienced her fear in its complete form and not ever wanting to do it again.

"I think I'll just read until the end of lunch, there has to be something better then that." She murmured thoughtfully. She opened her book and flipped through a few pages but felt someone's eyes on her so she looked up.

"You seem very different when you study." Draco said thoughtfully, "more peaceful. It's nice."

"Oh, erm…thanks?" She replied, unsure how to respond to his comment.

"It's a good thing. I like it. When you look at me you look angry, disgusted, hateful, or like you pity me."

"Oh." She said softly. She was more negative to him then she'd originally thought.

"It's good I don't like you or I might me sad." He said in a mocking voice.

"Dislike? What happened to 'fucking caring?'?" She couldn't resist saying, though she regretted it instantly when his face turn pink.

"There's a difference between caring about someone and liking them." Draco snapped, "you know you're a hypocrite. You criticize the Slytherins for doing exactly what you just did; use something someone said to you for your own advantage because you know it would bother them."

"You're not supposed to care." She shot back, "you're supposed to stay indifferent and shoot back a smart retort to whatever I say."

"Why is that?" He asked.

"Because you're supposed to hate me."

Draco merely snorted, "hate is overused so much. Not many people know what real hate is."

"And you do? Isn't hate supposed to be the opposite of love? How can you know what hate is if you've never loved? Oh no wait, your parents… I forgot about them." Her smile faltered when he didn't respond.

"I used to think they loved me, but I know better now. How can you return a feeling that isn't given?"

"Your parents must have loved you! You're their son!" She exclaimed.

"There's no point in having a son if he doesn't do his family some sort of honor."

"But your marks…you're a good student. And good at Quidditch."

"I was never the best." He said in a calm monotone.

That was painfully true. Harry was always the best at Quidditch, and she'd always been the best in their class…was the blame on their shoulders as to why Draco was so miserable? No, if his parents only 'loved' him is he succeeded, it was artificial.

"You have that look on your face. You pity me. Well you can stop, I don't need your pity." He snapped.

She rolled her eyes, "the only reason I pity you is because out of your own stupidity you were turned into a ferret in our fourth year and gave everyone something to laugh at you about."

"My father would have had him sacked." Draco growled.

"If he hadn't been a fellow Death Eater in disguise."

"You shouldn't make assumptions, Granger." Draco said quietly.

"I'm not assuming. I know your father is a Death Eater, and I know Barty Crouch was too. In our fourth year your father was in the inner circle and we saw him at the Department of mysteries."

"I remember that. Do you have any idea how…frightening that was?" He asked slowly.

"Of course I do, I was there. We were fighting for our lives and everyone else's lives, who knew if we were ever going to get out alive? Besides the fact that the Death Eaters outnumbered us-"

"No, I mean for us." He interrupted her, "at the school. Knowing what your parents were doing and wishing they wouldn't. We found out the Golden Trio went and we've all heard about your adventures together. You always win…"

She hadn't thought of that. That thought hadn't even crossed her mind once.

"I didn't think of that."

He nodded, "I know. No one ever thinks of us. its better that way," he continued, "pain is easier to deal with when you're alone. Letting people see your feelings is a very bad thing."

She looked up at his silver orbs and saw truth. Alone? Had she ever been truly alone? Not without the option of not being alone. Did they honestly believe it was easier to deal with alone or did they know no other option of dealing with their pain?

"What was it like?"

"Awful. The older Slytherins didn't know what was going on completely so most people looked to me for clarification, just because of Father's status. It was silent and the tension in the room was stifling as we all waited for news of what had happened. None came. We found out which of our parents were in Azkaban the next day from the Daily Prophet. I found out Father was among them and I felt…relieved."

She found that she couldn't look away. The planes of his face were sharpened and his eyes flickered with confusion, frustration, and even some regret.

The bell rang and she jerked her head away from him. "We should go to class."

Their classes were uneventful, filled with teachers piling on assignments for them to do. By dinner her mind was buzzing with all her thoughts on everything she was going to research and her plans to measure each assignment out so it was done on time.

"How's it going?" Crabbe asked Draco. Hermione looked up in surprise; she hadn't known that Seamus was there. He gave her a guilty smile.

"I wanted to apologize…"she said awkwardly, "about this morning. I overreacted."

He grinned. "It's okay. Everyone has their off days."

_Everyone has their _off_ days? Why didn't he apologize? _She thought with a flash of annoyance.

"So we have a practice tonight. Our team." She said, "you know, the one Malfoy is the captain of."

"Oh, ok. That's good. Since I didn't make the Gryffindor team at least of have somewhere to practice." His voice held a note of bitterness.

"Huh. Who did make the team?"

"Well there's Harry of course, he's seeker. Keeper is Ron, which is a bit biased don't you think? Then the beaters are Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote. And for chasers there's Ginny, Katie and Demelza." He grimaced.

"What? Don't you like her?" She asked, while privately thinking that he was just sore over not making it.

"She's not very good. I think I can do much better. But then, Harry's not too fond of me, is he?" He winked.

"But Harry does what is best for the team." She replied lightheartedly.

Seamus snorted. "Ron is his best friend, he obviously has something going on with Ginny, maybe between practices or in the change rooms. Then Katie has been on the team for years and she's pretty, too. Demelza isn't too ugly, either. Jimmy has connections to the Daily Prophet, and Ritchie is friends with Colin, who knows Ginny well." It was obvious how obsessed Seamus was.

"Then Dean is with Ginny and so he's jealous. I'm with you, that's why neither of us made it." She looked confused and he went on, "every male in Hogwarts knows that Hermione Granger is untouchable, off limits. Have you ever wondered why guys never showed interest in you? It's because we know that if we do, we'll get beaten to a pulp. No one wants to be on the bad side of Harry Potter. You're the biggest challenge in Hogwarts."

Something in that statement caught her off guard. "I'm a challenge?"

He squeezed her hand and sent butterflies shooting around in her stomach. "Not a challenge, a beautiful, intelligent girl that I am crazy about."

Her annoyance melted like butter in a microwave. The sound of chairs scraping on the floor pulled her out of her momentary limbo and she realized lunch was over.

"See you later." Seamus stood up and walked away, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

"Hurry up Granger, or are you frozen because you've just realized what an ugly prick you have for a boyfriend?" Draco's voice sounded at her ear.

"Shut up, Malfoy." She growled. "Let's go."

They walked back to their dormitory and both sat on the sofas by the fire. She looked at him and fiddled with a loose thread from the material of her skirt.

"Malfoy?" She asked tentatively. "You know everything we've talked about? Can you please…not mention it to anyone?"

He shrugged, "sure." After that he looked annoyed. She wasn't altogether surprised; the potion seemed to make him more impulsive. The only problem was that she didn't know if his first impulse was to lie.

"Thanks." She smiled.

Her response made him frown. That was not the reaction he was used to having on people. Especially when he was annoyed. They did not smile and say 'thanks', they trembled with fear and awe as he walked by.

"You are very confusing, Granger." He muttered and stood up. By the time she'd looked up he was closing the door.

"I'm not the only one." She murmured with what could possibly have been known as a fond smile.

**A/N Thanks for waiting so patiently for the next chapter! Huge delays! I graduated Wednesday and have spent the past month and half working my ass off and trying to type in a page or two into the story. Then I finally had grad and it was fun, we danced and all the guys looked so cute in their suits. But then the next day, yesterday, was the last day of school. By the end of it we were all crying and didn't want to leave. Sure it's only elementary school, but our school has 260 people in it, we're a class of 32 and have been together since Kindergarten. Then we're being thrust into a school of 1700 and are the youngest students again, and have, like, no classes with ANYONE. Plus the teachers were all telling me how successful I was going to be in the future, no matter what path I chose and good luck and it was so difficult goddamnit. And I may have a tiny crush on one teacher. Which is bad.**

**Now I'm kind of in a slump and don't really have any initiative to do anything, or update either of my stories. But then I thought, what did my reviewers do to me? You guys all review so nicely so I made myself do it for you. So there it was. This chapter was the big black hole in the plot and I had to revise everything just now because I spent too much time on the assignments they were given, which have now been taken out. But now it is summer, so I should have more time to work on both The House of Hell and this little baby :D.**

**Please review!**

**WAIT! In your review can you include an idea or two that you may have about another type of potion you'd like to be included in the story? Thanks!**

**So…please review!**


	16. Quidditch, Fury, and Insanity

**A/N I'm BACCCK Baby! I was kind of in a slump before but now I feel fabulous. And in a writing kind of mood so here we go. :D Oh and in case you didn't read the other author's note I posted a while back, it is October. Wow a faster update then usual, huh?**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Harry Potter, I mean. Or Hermione Granger. Or Ron Weasley. Or Voldemort. Or Dumbledore. Or Blaise Zabini. Or Pansy Parkinson. Or Theodore Nott. Or Neville Longbottom. Or Seamus Finnegan. Or Dean-okay, all the other nouns J.K Rowling created.**

With Halloween coming in a few days it was an average temperature, but it was still cold enough for them to bundle up before they made their way down to the Quidditch pitch. Hermione's teeth chattered and she pulled her heavy cloak tighter around herself. They were informed by Draco that they would be using the Slytherin change rooms as he had the key for them. Draco took the opportunity to place the charm they'd found on her then.

There wasn't really much of a difference except the walls were painted green. It only took Hermione half a second to realize they had a problem.

"Er, Malfoy?" She asked, looking around at a group of people twice as large as their team.

"What?"

"What about the people who aren't on the team but can't leave their partners?"

So they trekked back up to the castle and with twinkling eyes Dumbledore removed the spell and told them he would do the same before each practice and game, but they had to come straight to him after it was over. They all agreed and went down to the pitch again. The teammates' partners all went and sat on the stands. When they went back into the change rooms they were met with another obstacle.

"Malfoy?"

"_What_, Granger?"

"We don't seem to have any Quidditch robes."

With a strangled sigh on Draco's part they marched up to the castle again and went to Dumbledore's office. He produced them all a complete set of black Quidditch robes, explaining that the other teams have grey and white so they don't correspond with the House colors. Then they all went back down to the change rooms.

"Er, Malfoy?"

"_What_?" He nearly shouted.

"Can the girls change somewhere else?" She murmured.

"I don't care where the bloody hell you change if you stop talking and let me run the practice!" He snapped with more ferocity then he'd intended.

"Now," he turned to the team lining the benches, "our first game is against Blaise's team this weekend. I know we can win. In case you don't know your positions, Crabbe you're beater with Pansy. She is probably not going to be able to play the game so Granger is taking her place. Flinch-Fletchey and Bones are their beaters on the other team and have no experience. Macmillan you are the keeper. Weasley is the keeper on the other team and if we score a few times we can sike him out. Our chasers are Brown, Boot and Finnegan. I haven't seen you play yet, but today is mostly the evaluation. I'm confident that we can do this."

No one else looked very confident.

"Who has their own broom?" Draco asked. Seamus, Terry, Crabbe and Ernie raised their hand. Hermione was surprised, she hadn't realized that Ernie played Quidditch, or Terry for that matter.

"I'll see if Father can send me two brooms then, but for now you two will have to use the school's. Now everyone get changed and meet me in the middle of the pitch."

She and Lavender changed in the bathrooms (which were pretty big as they included showers) and were the last ones on the pitch, much to Draco's disgust.

"Here." He tossed a broom to Lavender. She screeched, covered her head and ran behind Hermione.

"Oh boy."

They managed to get Lavender on a broom and he told Hermione that for now she was going to have to ride with him until he could work with her. Seamus shot him a dirty look. They kicked off and Hermione only felt the tiniest of lurches. So far so good.

"Brown and Finnegan I want you two to pass the Quaffle around. Boot you can practice shooting on Macmillan, then you'll rotate. Crabbe I know what you can do so release one bludgers and hit it around. Make sure it doesn't hit anyone." Draco ordered and everyone flew off to do what he said.

"Okay, Granger for now I'm going to watch everyone and see how good they are so you can get accustomed to flying. Then we'll do some abrupt movement, and finally work on your beating skills." Draco was in his element and it was exceedingly obvious.

They watched the passing chasers first. Seamus was good, he had a good arm but Lavender kept trying to show off and missed Seamus so he had to go streaking off after it. Terry seemed to be the best of the three, but Ernie held his own against him. Unfortunately most of his faults came from trying to add embellishments and losing a save. And Crabbe pelted around with his bat and thankfully prevented anyone from getting hit. Not that it didn't close. Lavender was in hysterics for minutes after the bludger whizzed by her ear. Draco was disgusted but privately Hermione felt that she would have reacted the same way.

She found that looking down intensified her fear spectacularly and so she stared ahead at Draco's robes or watched the other players at the same level that they were. It felt strange, pressed against Draco's body with her arms wrapped around his waist. When he barked an order or suggestion his voice was all authority.

Lavender took her turn shooting on Ernie and was actually much better then expected. The power behind the shots wasn't great, but she confused Ernie by dodging him or by shooting at an odd angle.

"Good job Brown!" Draco called and she blushed furiously. She fumbled the next shot but Draco wasn't watching. "Okay, Granger we're going to do a bit of diving."

At first they just went up and down in a wave, but then the movement became a bit more sharp and fast. He performed complicated twists and abrupt stops. When she felt panic rising she buried her head in Draco's robes and took deep breaths to calm herself.

"You alright back there?"

"Erm," was she okay? "Yes!"

"Good. Everyone seems to be doing well so we'll work on some beater techniques." He steered them to the ground by a black crate holding the Slytherin's set of Quidditch balls and another bin full of tennis balls. "We'll start with these," he handed her the other bat, "I'll throw them to you and you hit them as hard as you can. When you can hit fifteen in a row as far as that stand we'll try a bludger."

At first it was really difficult to hit the balls and she got one in every five. ("It's not a sword, Granger, don't jab! Swing!") But soon she got the hang of it and could hit them pretty far. But obviously not far enough.

"Granger you're not giving it enough power." He jogged over and took the bat from her cold hands. "Hold it with one of your hands here, closer to the base and then put your other hand about 2 inches higher then that. For maximum power put more of your body into it, like this." He demonstrated. "You try."

She took and tried to imitate his grip. He patiently moved her hands around and then she tried to copy how he swung. "Not bad, we'll try again." He jogged back and tried throwing the balls again. She missed the first two but when the third one made impact she was shocked by how far it went. "Good!"

After that things went better. Draco moved around so she had to move her torso to hit it. He told her not to move her legs because when she hit it she'd be on a broom. When she hit fifteen in a row Draco actually smiled from his position and jogged over again.

"That was really good. I think you should try it with a bludger now."

"What?" She squeaked, the thrill of success numbed a bit.

"I think you're ready."

"Are you insane?" She asked as he collected the balls with his wand.

"Oh no, this is the sanest thought I've had all night." He said with a dark edge to his tone.

She looked at him for a full minute in silence. "Do you really think so?"

He locked eyes with her. "Yes."

"Okay…" She agreed reluctantly.

He walked over to the box holding the other bludger in and waved his wand at it. "I spelled it to go only for you." Before she could register that he knew how to do that, or that there was now a metal ball intent on crushing her, he released it. She prepared her best to hit it, only it was much heavier then she'd expected and in was only hit a few meters in front of her. Did he realize the difference between this little lightweight balls and this thing intent on crushing her? It wasn't that she was weak. She could throw a strong punch that hurt, she could lift pretty heavy things and could hold onto something very tightly if she wanted to. The main thing in her weakness the bit of shock.

Then it came back. Her knees weakened as she hit it again but it didn't really have the massive effect she wanted it to. Draco was shouting something but she couldn't hear what it was. It came back and would have taken off her head had she not ducked. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. Was Draco trying to kill her? Surely he knew she wouldn't be able to handle this. But he'd seemed so sure she could this.

She swung. The bat hit the bludger as her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. She could see Draco sprinting towards her now. Probably just wanted to make sure the job was going to get finished.

A weak swing was all she could manage as it streaked back. The difference was only to block it from beating her to a pulp. A shriek was audible, was that her voice? Blood was pounding in her ears.

Was Hermione Granger going to die so easily?

The bludger hit the bat and propelled it into her shoulder, making her wince.

Yes.

She fell back and the bludger whistled by her head. Her muscles screamed as she tried to get a good grip on her weapon, her only defense. The thought to use her wand hand abandoned her brain.

There was a thud beside her, followed quickly by a grunt. What was that? She wasn't feeling any pain except a bit of bruising on her shoulder.

"Granger?" Hands grabbed the front of her robes and jerked her into a sitting position. "Are you okay?" Draco shook her roughly.

"I'm…alive?" She said. What she'd meant to say was 'why do you care if I'm okay?'

"Thanks Merlin." Draco's face was paper white.

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, she's fine. Can you stand?"

"I think so, I haven't tried yet." She dazedly stood up and shook off people's hands.

"Oh my god." Lavender ran over and gave her a crushing hug. "I thought you were done for!" She sobbed hysterically into Hermione's shoulder.

Draco was regaining his haughtiness as Hermione was slipping out of her haze. "Well practice is over now. Be here tomorrow night at 7:00. I don't want any complaints. And if you don't come, you will regret it."

They followed slowly, Seamus insisted on supporting her even though she told him she could walk perfectly fine. Ernie shot her worried looks and Terry tried his best to help Lavender stop crying. When they reached the change rooms she was no longer crying, but was sending Hermione looks. But they weren't normal looks, like glances. They were searching and she seemed to be thinking something over while Draco gave them the after practice pep-talk.

In the bathroom Lavender consulted Hermione, which was quite a big step. Usually Lavender and Parvati acted as one, so this was a big leap towards independence.

"Hermione what did you do?" She asked with a bit of admiration.

"What?"

"To Draco." Lavender said, as if that cleared everything up. Hermione just stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

"He's acting differently around you, very cautious but nicer then he's ever been to anyone else and the second he noticed something was up with you he was bellowing for Crabbe and was running over and acting all concerned about you until you said you were fine and it wasn't even just today Parvati noticed it too how you guys are so tense and weird around each other like there's more going on between you then it seems and he's just different and I want to know what you did." She said it all in one breath and very quickly.

"We've…decided to try to get along for the most part because of the assignment but I haven't noticed anything different."

Lavender sighed. "Okay…but you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Of course." Hermione answered. Except that she and Parvati had a knack for letting things slip.

"Hurry up, you two!" Draco banged on the door.

"One second!" She finished getting dressed and was pulling her cloak in when Lavender frowned at her.

"Hermione you should really pull one side of your hair back. Here." She dug two gold hairclips from her bag and fastened them on Hermione's right side, successfully pulling the hair back. "There."

She glanced at her reflection and decided it didn't look too bad so she would wear it for the rest of the evening so Lavender didn't get offended. Lavender's partner was waiting outside the change rooms and they walked back up to Dumbledore's office together. Draco took the charm they'd used off before they went in. When the spell was placed back on they separated. Lavender gave her a wink and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Draco asked.

"Careful Malfoy," she teased, "you almost sound concerned."

"I am." She was pretty sure her heart stopped. "Without you we'd be short another player. Besides I forgot that the Slytherins charmed their bludgers to be quicker and hit harder for training."

They walked in silence for a bit. "Do you want to check in the Hospital Wing just to see how Pansy's doing?"

"She won't be awake, Granger. The Imperius curse was pretty strong."

She snapped her head around to him. "An Imperius curse? I knew something didn't look right about her."

"Any idea who would want to kill you?" He asked with mock seriousness.

"Well yes. Isn't the goal of people like you to kill muggleborns?"

"People like me?" He asked and narrowed his eyes. "Who are people like me?"

"Death Eaters."

"I am not a Death Eater." He said in a quiet voice.

"Yet." She said darkly, and then continued. "Besides it would no doubt get to Harry."

"What are you on about?"

"It's been Voldemort's goal to kill Harry, right? I've thought about how they saw us in the department of mysteries, fighting together as one and seeing as Voldemort released the from Azkaban they no doubt told him that shred of information. He knows how much Harry relies on his loved ones and it wouldn't be hard to hurt him by killing someone close to him, They've already done just that, why not again?" The Hospital Wing door was close by and Hermione found herself wishing that they didn't have to go into it.

"Potter is a weak fool." Draco spat out.

She turned on him in a second, eyes blazing. "Do _not _call Harry weak! He has looked death straight in the face so many damn times because he's the _only_ chance this world has got left or it will be corrupted and destroyed by your _precious_ master. How is he weak? Because he can love? Well that's an advantage in my book because its something that Voldemort is _incapable_ of. For _you_ of all people to call _him_ weak is bloody hilarious! If Harry is weak I sure as hell hate to think of what you are. Cowardly does not seem to suffice."

She turned on her heel and stormed down to the door leading to the Hospital Wing, where she waited silently, fuming, for Draco. He stared numbly after her. Never before had he heard her speak with such venom, like acid was actually going to drip from her mouth. She was so quick to defend Harry that it shocked him to no end. Of course everyone knew the 'Golden Trio' was close, but he hadn't expected it to be at such an extent.

"Are you coming?" She snapped. He nodded and followed her into the Hospital Wing. There were two occupants besides Pansy who seemed to have gotten into a duel together.

"What do you need?" Madame Pomfrey asked as they walked through. "You two again?"

"We wanted to see Parkin- Pansy." Hermione forced a smile, despite the fact that she wanted nothing more then to take something heavy and throw it at Draco's head. Or hex him repeatedly since her arms were still sore and a bit weak from the attack she'd endured.

"She's awake now, you can see her but not for very long. She's not doing as well as we'd like."

Hermione looked over at a bed with the curtains wrapped around it. "Actually we think that she-"

"Will get better soon. Can we see her now?" Draco interrupted. She glared at him.

Madame Pomfrey took his insistence for worry and smiled gently. "She's just over in that bed. If I find you two stressing her in any way you'll be gone in a snap."

They hurried to Pansy's bed and she opened her eyes when they pushed through the curtains. "Draco? I knew you'd come."

"It was Granger's idea." He said gruffly.

Hermione felt another surge of anger. It was obvious to her if not to him that Pansy needed someone to care about her.

"Granger?" She turned to the Gryffindor standing awkwardly at the foot of her bed. "Why?"

"Because I miss having you around, Pansy." It surprised Hermione how easily that name floated off her lips after she'd said it once. "I know we don't really get along but I'd like to try."

"Oh." Pansy accepted that. "Draco why am I here?" Hermione and Pansy were both looking at him.

"In potions class you weren't yourself and-why don't I show you?" They all looked surprised. "I'll get my penseive and you can see it. It's too hard to explain."

"Okay." Pansy looked genuinely happy that Draco would do that for her.

"Come on Granger."

"Don't tell me what to do." She snapped, still furious at him. Pansy raised her eyebrows at Draco who shrugged and followed the girl to their dormitory.

Draco opened the door to his room and Hermione followed him into his room. She watched him perform a few complex looking wand movements and then she flopped onto his bed. She found it incredibly stiff and rolled around, trying to get comfortable.

"Granger come on I'm leaving. And get the hell off my bed."

She followed him out and said, "she really appreciates you doing this."

"I know." Did his voice sound sad?

"What happened with you two?" She asked, deciding it would be okay to hold off her anger until she got some answers.

"She started acting differently around me." He said quietly, then sharper, "who are you to delve into my private life?"

"I'm curios." She snapped. They walked in silence all the way back and found Pansy sitting up, looking eager. Madame Pomfrey gave them harassed looks but said nothing.

Hermione sat down on the end of Pansy's bed. "You might not like what you see."

"I know. But I want to know what I did."

"I'm going to direct you to the right memory, okay Pansy?" Draco held his wand in one hand and with the other let Pansy hole onto his hand. "Ready?"

"Yes."

He prodded the tip of his wand into the silvery nothingness and it was a second too late before Hermione realized a strange sensation was taking over her and she was touching Pansy's ankle. They landed in the Potions Classroom as Professor Snape said they were testing the potion.

"Why the hell are you here, Granger?" Draco hissed as he supported Pansy, who was watching the proceedings with rapt attention.

"I was touching Pansy's ankle by accident."

"Shh." Pansy shushed them. They watched in silence, reliving the moment that Professor Snape looked Harry in the eye as he gave Hermione the potion. Suddenly something Hermione had said moments before flashed into his mind.

"_Any idea who would want to kill you?"_

"…_It would no doubt get to Harry." _

Blaise was now yelling for Pansy to give Hermione the antidote, but she wouldn't move.

The Pansy beside them was watching with her mouth open, looking horrified. It looked worse now then it had the first time. Hadn't Madame Pomfrey said the potion was NEWT level?

Draco was now yelling at Pansy and Hermione turned to him in surprise. Snape now told Pansy to give Hermione the antidote.

"No." The real Pansy whispered as she watched her memory-self give Hermione the vial. The memory-Draco looked horrified as everything clicked into place.

Hermione's jaw actually dropped as Draco leapt the desk and gave her memory-self the antidote he'd constructed. She'd been only slightly aware of things going on around her at certain points of time, and she definitely did not remember this. Everyone crowded around as memory-Hermione stopped moving and memory-Draco stumbled away.

"I tried to murder Granger!" Pansy cried, "I'm a murderer at age sixteen!" She buried her head in Draco's robes and let all her stress out in shuddering sobs. Normally he would have pushed her away but this time he didn't.

Hermione was the only watching the images shimmer and change. They were in a well furnished room that Hermione figured did Malfoy Manor due to the two figures inhabiting it.

"Draco you have disrespected me." Lucius Malfoy said silkily.

"I am sorry Father." A fifteen year old Draco stood before his father, staring at the floor.

Out of nowhere the snake-head grazed memory-Draco's cheek and blood dripped form the cut.

"A Malfoy does not apologize to anyone." Lucius snapped. "Do not look at your feet."

"What makes you think I want to look at you?" Draco looked up with a sudden surge of anger. The air whistled and memory-Draco's stomach was hit with the snake head.

"Draco you must learn to respect me." Lucius's voice was like acid. The real-Draco's head shot up and his eyes widened.

"Crucio." Hermione gasped. The memory-Draco screamed and fell to the ground.

"Get out Granger." The real-Draco snapped.

"I don't know how!" She cried, unable to look away from Draco's memory.

"Finite." The memory-Draco lay gasping on the ground. He stood up straight and looked Lucius in the eye. "Do not disobey me again."

"Get out!" The real-Draco shouted. Lucius jabbed his snake headed staff into the memory-Draco's right thigh. The memory-Draco flinched as Lucius dragged it up and across his back as he circled him. The pulled it away at his left shoulder and left without a word. Blood was already soaking through memory-Draco's clothes and he collapsed on the ground.

"Granger!" The real-Draco shouted. Pansy was still holding onto his robes and he was too preoccupied with getting Hermione the hell out of his memory to think straight.

"Nilym!" The memory-Draco called and a house elf appeared before him. It peeled Draco's shirt off his back and Hermione saw the cut that would become the scar she'd seen on his back. There were also other big slashes, some were opened again because his newest mark went through and some were already scars.

Real-Draco grabbed Hermione's arm, held onto Pansy with the other and dragged them both out. Hermione was in complete shock and couldn't think straight.

"I didn't…I didn't know…" Hermione whispered as she stood up from the bed.

Draco's face was paper white and he was shaking. "I told you to get out." His voice trembled with suppressed rage and…shame?

"Your scars…I just never thought…I'm sorry." She felt sick and wasn't capable of forming whole sentences.

"If you ever tell someone about what you saw I will put you in a bed beside Pansy that you will never get off." He said in a deadly whisper.

Pansy blew her nose and said, "Granger I don't…I mean…"

"We think someone used the Imperius curse on you." Hermione said as she avoided Draco's furious eyes.

"But who? Who wants you dead?"

If only there was an answer to the million dollar question.

_GMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMG_

At 10:02 that night Hermione heard an insistent knock on the door from her spot on the sofa. She dragged herself to the door and pulled it open.

Ginny stood outside in a pair of pajama short shorts and an overlarge t-shirt. Her hair cascaded in waves down her back and her feet were clad in the fluffy bunny slippers she'd gotten from Hermione for Christmas.

"Ginny?" She asked, "what's wrong? It's past curfew, you'll be caught!"

She ushered the girl through the door and brought her to the couch. The three males had all retired to their rooms so she was sitting in silence pondering the events of the past few weeks. Ginny curled up in the cat-like position she usually took up when on a couch.

"Dean dumped me."

Hermione extended sympathy towards the younger girl. "I'm sorry, Ginny. Do you want to talk about it?"

"We were just talking and I mentioned how I was not talking to Harry still and he accused me of all sorts of ridiculous things. Apparently people have been mentioning what a great couple Harry and I would make and people have actually asked Dean when he and I split up because they thought we were already together. Eventually he just said he couldn't deal with it and we were obviously not going to work out and stormed away."

"Oh. I really am sorry Ginny. Are you okay?"

Ginny shrugged. "I was but I didn't want to deal with all sorts of people coming over to me and bothering me about it. Our House lives around knowing each other's business. These two girls wouldn't stop pestering me and are know convinced there is some sort of love triangle going on."

Hermione leaned over and hugged her. "So you're okay?"

Ginny locked eyes with her. "Yes. I don't even feel remorseful. Which just shows what kind of relationship we had to begin with."

"Hermione did McGonagall give us two rolls of parchment or one because I've only just remember- oh." Harry stopped abruptly when he saw Ginny. The silence was punctuated by the sound of his door swinging shut behind him. "I'll just…er…"

Ginny hugged a pillow to her torso and looked at Hermione as though to say 'make it go away.'

"Is everything okay?" Harry asked Hermione.

Hermione looked at Ginny, who glared at her before replying stiffly, "It's just Dean."

"Oh." Harry said in an offhanded kind of way. "Well I'll just see you tomorrow Her-"

"Harry do you think you could keep Ginny company I need to use the loo." Ginny was giving her wide-eyed looks and mouthing 'NO!'. "Thanks."

Ginny watched her walk to the bathroom and tried to plot some kind of way to escape. As she closed the door to the bathroom she winked at Ginny. She felt weight being transferred onto the couch beside her and slowly turned to face the main object of her distress. His hair was messy in the way that only he could pull off and his green eyes were fixed on her face. He sat tensely.

She felt the familiar flip-flop in her stomach that she always felt in his presence mixed with the guilt that she'd fancied him while she was dating Dean. She'd stopped liking him in her third year but this year it had started again slowly until she realized what was going on with her. Then it was followed by a period of denial that ended about two minutes ago. It was always harder to hate his guts when he was right in front of her.

"Ginny." He said softly and she jumped. "I wanted to apologize for that argument we had in the great hall."

She paused and he watched her. "I accept your apology on one condition. You let me kiss whoever I want."

He hesitated. "It depends. If I catch you snogging Snape or Malfoy then I'll have to put my foot down."

"As long as there are no objections to Hagrid." She wiggled her eyebrows at him and he laughed. It felt good to sit there with Harry.

"The thing is there's only one person-" He stopped halfway through the sentence. "I'm only looking out for you. You're-" He seemed to be having a difficult time phrasing what he wanted to say. He kept opening and closing his mouth. "You're like a little sister to me." He said it very slowly, as though forcing every word out of his mouth.

He really knew how to crush someone, didn't he? Sister? He thought of her as a _sister_? Of all the goddamn things he could think of her as.

"Oh." Was the only thing she managed to say.

"How are your classes?"

"Fine." She said stiffly.

"Are you thinking about your owls yet?"

"No."

He nodded. "I only started thinking about them when Hermione became the maniac she gets around-"

"Harry I'm going up to Hermione's room." She cut in.

He blinked. "Okay. Are you feeling okay?" _Oh I'm fine. Thanks for your brotherly concern._

"I'm fine. I'd just rather wait for her up there." He caught her meaning instantly. She didn't want to be around him. He asked what he'd done but she ignored him and went through to Hermione room anyway.

So she sat on Hermione's bed, fuming. How could he sit there with his amazing eyes and cute messy hair and make her heart speed up and send her mind to la-la land where she couldn't think straight and make her think that he might like her too and then crush her into the floor by telling her he thought of her as a _sister_?

"Ginny?" Hermione came through the door. "Harry is sitting out there looking like someone hit him over the head with a club."

"Wish I'd done the honors." She grumbled.

"I thought you two sorted things out." The brunette climbed onto the bed with her.

"We did. It was only a silly argument anyway. You know, like the kind brother and sister have." She spat out the last four words.

Hermione sighed. "What's wrong Ginny?"

"He says I'm like his little sister." She said faintly.

"He did?" Hermione looked more confused then the situation deemed necessary.

"Hermione have you ever looked into someone's eyes and seen a," she paused, unsure of how to say this, "an intensity that is all yours? Like two fires that will only stop burning if _you_ pour water on them?"

Hermione looked thoughtful and Ginny could only imagine what she wax thinking about. Finally she shook her head. "Not in the same way you are undoubtedly referring to."

"It's amazing to feel like someone holds a special passion for you. When I lock eyes with him I feel like that. Like no matter what anyone else says it will stay that way forever. Then he says something like that and its like the sparks are gone."

Hermione took in all that information in the way only she could do. "So basically-"

"I have the crazy idea Harry Potter may harvest some kind of twisted feeling like love towards me but in the end I know he doesn't and that makes me angry at him for some reason." Ginny groaned and flopped down onto the bed.

"Harry can sometimes be very hard to read. He doesn't like to bring his emotions out into the open s-"

"Is that them?" She suddenly sat up very straight. "Is that Harry?"

Hermione turned and saw two people streaking around the pitch. "Probably. You know how Harry gets calmed down by flying."

Ginny suddenly turned to the other girl. "Do you want to run around Hogwarts right now?"

"Ginny what if we get caught! Besides I'd have to bring Malfoy with me."

"We wouldn't get caught, I've done it tons of times. Why don't we have a sleepover party? We could invite Lavender, Parvati, Susan, Padma, Hannah and myself. Why not throw in Luna too? We'll have to wait until you and Malfoy aren't attached and…"

The girls chattered on throughout the night and the two boys flew around the Quidditch Pitch. It was past midnight before they finally decided to turn in. As they flew by the girls' window Ginny stirred from the light slumber she was in and looked out the window. Her eyes met with a pair of jade ones and they held for a few seconds that lasted forever. Simultaneously they looked away and Ginny rolled over and fell back to sleep. The Boy-Who-Lived looked back through the window and watched the sleeping girl until Blaise called out for him to hurry up. He flew back to his room and climbed through the window, his mind still occupied by the red-haired witch and his regret for what he'd managed to not say that night.

**A/N Okay there's a little taste of Harry/Ginny stuff going on. :D Yeah you can tell the potion is beginning to lose its strength since Harry can control what he says with a strong will.**

**I forgot I was going to give you a recommendation so here you go.**

**Dramione? No We'll Be Heraco- Silidons. Great story and very funny! I loved reading it!!**

**I have a favor for you now. When you review can you recommend any good stories you've read? I'm currently in a bit of a Harry/Ginny infatuation but other ships are fine. Recommend yours, someone else's, doesn't matter, I just really need to find something to sink my teeth into and am never very good at actually finding something. :D**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Review review review!**


	17. Brutal

**A/N The last day of Draco's potion…yes I realize that every day has taken up one chapter, but this one was kind of important. ;D**

**Disclaimer-I do not own Harry Potter. That is very clear. Nor do I own anything you can find in Meg Cabot's Mediator series.**

Hermione awoke the next morning to find Ginny stirring beside her. She checked the time and when convinced there was plenty of it slowly eased herself out of bed into the cold air.

"I should go," Ginny said blearily, "I have to get dressed and shower."

Hermione glanced over at her, "sure. I'll see you at breakfast, then?"

Ginny nodded and smiled. "Thanks."

She watched the red head disappear through her door and frowned. How had Harry managed to fight off the potion? She hadn't realized that was possible. But then, he was able to throw off the Imperius curse and its strength would probably be weaker now. Even so… She'd hoped he would talk to Ginny because she was tired of him pretending he didn't feel anything for her. Maybe that was a little nosy and manipulative but Ginny would be happy, he would be happy, and Ron would learn to be happy… She remembered that Harry had been flying outside late last night and knew he would be irritable, snappish and dead on his feet. All three were proved to be true.

In the dormitory they found a note dismissing them from classes after lunch. She was disappointed that they were cancelled but knew that it was for the convenience of the ones that had tested the potions so she didn't show it.

They walked down to the Great Hall in relatively good spirits (with the exception of Harry).

"Oh Merlin." Four people breathed simultaneously as the walked through the oak doors separating them from their destination.

The walls were plastered with blown up, life-like pictures featuring Hermione with Blaise or Draco. She and Draco on the bed in the Hospital Wing, playing strip poker, walking in the halls, exchanging amused looks, the Quidditch Practice, between shootings of the movie, shots from the movie, and then pictures of her and Blaise dancing at the Slytherin Party. They all made them look very happy.

The teachers were standing in groups of two or three around the more inappropriate pictures looking harassed. Most of the students were eating breakfast, having already examined every picture closely. They sat down at the breakfast table and Seamus directed his attention to her.

"What the hell is this?" He glanced at the pictures, a furious purple color on his face.

"It looks like someone has been stalking us…" she trailed off.

"I mean why do you look so damn happy with him?"

"I wasn't in a right state of mind when these were taken."

"You look perfectly fine in that one," he pointed to one of Draco saying something in the Hospital Wing and her laughing.

"Well…" She looked over at Draco, who was smirking.

Seamus took her hand and led her further away from him. Tingles shot up her arm but he let it go as soon as they were out of hearing distance. "Are you and Malfoy actually friends?"

"Seamus please, I'm trying to be on better terms with everyone but I have to start small."

"There's something funny going on if he's being nice to you." Seamus said bitterly.

"Granger I found this," Draco said as he approached them and held out one of Lavender's hairclips, "in my room."

"Oh thanks." She cursed in her head, having forgotten she'd lost one.

"You left it on my bed." Draco smirked.

The next thing she knew she was shoved aside and Seamus was launching himself at Draco. He ducked and punched up, hitting Seamus in the jaw. The fight was on.

"Stop it!" She cried as people noticed the brawl and crowded around them. As soon as she got close enough she separated them with magic and they flew apart.

Hermione dragged Draco away and scolded him, "Why would you provoke him like that?"

"Provoke him? I did no such thing." Draco smirked through his bloody nose. "You left it on my bed yesterday when we got the memory. I went to sleep and found something poking into me."

"The way you said it implied differently." She snapped.

"It's not my fault your boyfriend thinks about sex all the time."

She massaged her temples and sighed. "This is pointless." She snatched a napkin from the nearest table and put it over his nose. "Here." As she drew her hand away her fingertips brushed his lips and he shivered.

With one last glare she hurried over to where Seamus was being scolded by Professor McGonagall. The hairclip's edges dug into her palm as she clenched it. He too had a bloody nose and a black eye.

"Are you okay?" She asked as their teacher strode away.

"I'm fine." He glowered, "how is _Draco_?"

"Malfoy is-" She caught his meaning and resisted rolling her eyes, "I was telling him what a jackass he is, I couldn't care less how he's feeling."

"All I know is that you went over to him first and then your boyfriend. There's something wrong with that picture." He looked quite angry. It wasn't a face she used to seeing on Seamus.

"I honestly don't know what to say."

"Neither do I." He said and turned on heel to storm out of the hall, leaving her flabbergasted and upset.

"We should go to the Hospital Wing." She muttered as Draco approached her and led him to their destination. They walked through the doors and Pansy waved them over. Draco mumbled something about seeing Madame Pomfrey so Hermione visited the girl alone.

"What happened?" Pansy asked curiously.

"Seamus and Malfoy got in a fight." Hermione said and Pansy immediately picked up her downtrodden spirit.

"What were they fighting about?" Pansy asked casually. And so she found herself telling Pansy the whole story and how the stupid little hairclip must have fallen off her head when she'd flopped onto Draco's bed and how she and Seamus didn't seem to be enjoying each other's company much anymore.

"Boys can be so masochistic sometimes." Pansy said and Hermione couldn't suppress a giggle and a sigh of resentment.

"I was, er, wondering if you thought you'd be able to play in the game." She felt guilty asking her in the Hospital Wing but anxiety had begun to claw at her even at the mention of Quidditch. Draco had walked over to join them and stood beside her.

"I want to but it all depends on her." There was no doubt who 'her' was, it would have been obvious even without the dirty glare Pansy shot at their healer. "She thinks there must be something else wrong with me but if it was just the Imperius curse…"

"Just?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

The blonde shrugged, "I've been in an area exposed to that curse numerous times. I should be able to play if we tell her…"

"No." Draco said firmly. "That will just create bigger problems."

"But they might be able to find out who did it."

"Or whoever did it might know we know and then finish you off." Pansy watched the two with an amused expression.

"It's not just my safety on the line here! Pansy has already been hurt and there's some kid running around Hogwarts that can produce at least one Unforgivable."

"You know you're making a pretty big assumption here." Pansy said and they both rounded on her. "It may not be a student. I'm sure all the teachers could use an Unforgivable-"

"Not necessarily, you know the whole logic of it. You have to mean it indefinitely." Draco interrupted her.

"And you think none of the teachers have enough emotion and experience to mean something like that?" Hermione snapped, sometimes he really irked her.

"Anyway," Pansy cut in, "if one of them could get invisible or conceal themselves they could do it. Or someone could have been controlling a student controlling me."

It made sense but-

"We're going in circles." Draco said angrily, "It all comes down to who wants to kill you."

"I think the biggest possibility is the Death Eaters. If they killed me, Harry would automatically look to Voldemort. He would probably try to avenge my death if he could. I think it's safe to say by now that Voldemort understands how Harry's mind works and would be prepared for an attack."

The two Slytherins looked grim. It pretty much connected her death to their parents and in Draco's case, him.

"Would Potter do that, though?" Pansy asked.

"It wouldn't be unheard of. That's what my first thought would be, kill them. Unfortunately Harry depends mostly on instinct and wouldn't stop to think, which I would. When Bellatrix got Sirius he-" She cut off, not sure it would be advisable to discuss that with them.

Pansy cleared her throat after an awkward silence. "Shouldn't you two be getting to class now?"

Hermione's eyes widened , "oh!" She grabbed Draco's hand and dashed with him in tow to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Pansy watched them go with a sad smile.

They arrived to find everyone seated but no teacher. As Draco cleared his throat she dropped his hand with a blush, thankful that no one noticed, and slipped into the nearest seat.

"Hello everyone!" A middle aged woman with a familiar shade of blonde hair and blue eyes strode into the room with a wide smile. She rounded on the class and suddenly all the blood drained from her face. "James?" She whispered with her eyes fixed on Harry.

"Harry." He replied hoarsely, paler then usual.

"Oh, yes of course, silly me." She chuckled, "I went to school two years before James. I never could get him to go out with me, even after I died my hair and got contacts like Lily Evans. She was so beautiful. I realized later that one of the reasons James was drawn to her was that attitude she had, her fiery temper."

Harry had a pained expression on his face as he watched their teacher talk about his parents in front of the class. No one else had heard people talk about Harry's parents, so they were all listening intently.

"Anyway I'm your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. For some reason your old one, Professor what's-his-name, resigned." She surveyed the class with a smile and they sat there in shock as they all realized why she looked slightly familiar.

"Are you related to Lockhart?" Ron's voice was full of disgust.

"Oh!" She beamed, "No. But I feel so flattered!"

"Don't be." Harry muttered.

"You know this is the exact shade of his hair. And his eyes. I've gone to every single book signing he's had and I've read all his books so many times."

"Did you find out exactly how many hairs he has on his head so you could match?" Draco asked sarcastically and Hermione cracked a smile.

"Of course not." She said disdainfully, "St. Mungos has better security then _that_."

"You realize he's a-"

"Fraud? I remember that. Some lunatics thought it would be funny to erase his memory and make him out as a fraud. If I ever meet those two-"

"Today's your lucky day then," Ron said, "those lunatics are right here."

"What?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion and squinted at the class.

"Ron and I were looking for his sister since she'd been taken to the Chamber of Secrets and Lockhart was getting ready to flee from the school like the coward he is. He was going to put memory charms on us, and pretend we'd gone insane from seeing his sister's dead body but the charm backfired on him." Harry said, looking quite furious with himself. He may have been able to stop telling Ginny what he'd been thinking but he wasn't now.

"Ron Weasley? Who's his sister?"

"Ginny Weasley." Neville said.

"Oh I haven't taught her yet. What's she like?"

"She's beautiful." Harry said and Hermione saw his face coloring slightly. There was a moment of silence as Ron frowned.

"I see." Their teacher (who had yet to give them her name) had a twinkling in her eye. "Anything else you'd like to tell us about her?"

"Professor I really don't see what this has to do with the curriculum." Hermione cut in smoothly.

"Oh, yes of course." Their teacher smiled at them. "You may call me Professor Candy. Though I'm sure any of you that were present for breakfast would have realized that." She winked at them and Hermione began to wonder if they had been presented another teacher that knew nothing of the subject, possibly the most crucial subject they were learning.

"Today we are working mostly on defense spells. '_Protego_'is what we'll start with today. Divide into the partners I trust you've already been given and practice defending yourself with that spell. No damaging spells, please, and non-verbal." Her voice changed from light an fluffy to firm and authoritative in a second as she began instructing them.

They paired off and lined up across from their partners. Hermione watched Draco's wand move and successfully blocked the spell. She knew _protego_ in her sleep, as did every other member of DA. The only thing they had to master was using spells silently, which everyone had a good grasp on. Occasional cheating did occur, however.

Draco blocked her jelly-legs curse and shot a bat-bogey hex back so quickly she almost didn't block it. It went on like that for some time, once she only half blocked his spell and had the sensation of her legs solidifying and then turning to jelly.

"Good work!" Professor Candy clapped her hands, "I'm going to pair you off now, and your couple will duel another couple. If one of you two is hit, your group is out. If you lose, line this wall," she gestured to the font of the class, "and if you win go to this one. The first half of the class will go first and then the second."

She and Draco were paired with Harry and Blaise in the first group. "Go!"

Harry hesitated as he looked at her and Draco took full advantage of this and shot a spell at him. Harry ducked and it flew over his head. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and blocked Blaise's spell quickly. Dodging out of the way of Draco, who was wrapped up in his own duel with Harry, she shot a bat-bogey hex at Blaise at an odd angle and unfortunately missed his body completely.

He took advantage of her position and shot a spell directly at her, so she protected herself with a shield. As she leaned forward a spell shot over her head and hit Blaise in the chest, causing his wand to fly high in the air towards the person who'd disarmed him. She turned around and saw that the spell had issued from Draco's wand and had missed Harry. To her vexation she noticed both boys were still dueling even though it was over.

"Malfoy, its done!" She called and when neither showed signs of letting up she disarmed Draco and then shot Harry a warning look as his eyes flashed. "You hit Blaise with a spell." She directed her words to Draco, "we've won." She gave Harry an apologetic smile and they split up.

They waited as the other group dueled and were paired with another couple, Ron and Morag. Just like their previous duel Ron and Draco paired off, leaving Hermione with Morag. Their battle was short lived because Ron accidentally ran into Morag, catching him off balance and Hermione hit him with jelly-legs.

Their next duel was also fast, leaving them in the final round with Melissa Moon and Dean Thomas. Both looked a bit apprehensive of fighting the two best students in their year, seeing as the way they'd been partnered had put them with easy competition. Things started out the same, Draco and Dean threw a few curses back and forth and so did Hermione and Melissa. But the two on the opposing team simultaneously turned and shot spells at Draco, one on each side of him.

Instinct kicked in and she shot a protective barrier, blocking Melissa's spell as Draco blocked Dean's. Grey locked with brown for a fraction of a second and an understanding passed through them. Hermione angled back so she and Draco were side by side, each facing the other direction and continued their duels. There was now no way one of them could be hit by their opponents if they paid attention. They kept it so that neither of their duel partners could move onto better grounds. It never occurred to Hermione or Draco the position they'd unknowingly put themselves in, they were both relying on the other to protect their backs. It was a twisted form of trust. As she shot a spell at Melissa she muttered something quickly in Draco's ear. "After I shoot the next hex, I'm going to use the time Melissa takes to block it to attack Dean. I need you to watch her so I can turn and get a good angle, he won't expect it from me. I will send a barrier to you as I turn."

He murmured a quick, "got it."

"Now." She shot the spell and whirled around as he turned sideways. Their backs touched for a fraction of a second and then she completed the half-turn. In one quick wave she'd protected Draco and shot a spell at Dean, who was unprepared for her attack and threw up a clumsy shield. It broke from the force of her spell and he couldn't stop the next one from hitting him. As the class clapped Hermione felt something hit her calf and she gasped, leaning on Draco as a hot liquid trickled down to the floor.

"What're you, holy-" He turned to the side of the class that the cut was on. "Who cut her?"

The blood drained from the faces of the people standing there. No one said anything and Professor Candy hurried over. She examined the abrasion on Hermione's calf, frowning.

"Will anyone admit to causing this?" She looked at the whole room and no one spoke. "Very well. All your Heads will be informed of this. Miss. Granger, I think you need to go to the Hospital Wing."

"I'll take her." Harry, Ron and Seamus all said at once.

"Oh, thank you Draco." She smiled at Draco as though he had been the only one to volunteer. Draco helped her out the door and then sighed impatiently; the favoring of her leg was slowing them down. Deciding it was the easiest thing to do so he picked her up bridal-style and carried her, not caring how cliché it would look. They weren't a love-struck couple so there was no symbolism in there, anyway.

And so they went, they Slytherin Prince and the Gryffindor Princess. The most surprising part of this picture was not, however, that Draco looked content to have Hermione in his arms and Hermione looked content to simply be there. Nor was it when Hermione rested her head on his chest. It wasn't even the fact that they were both thinking along the lines of how the other was actually not all that bad. It was when they locked eyes and looked away in unison with slight blush on both their faces, and the feeling that an electric shock had traveled through their eyes upon glance.

-

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-

"Albus I have to admit I am very concerned." Minerva McGonagall was sitting in the chair opposite Dumbledore's desk.

"Please enlighten me on your troubling anxiety." Albus said calmly.

The witch turned to look him in the eye. "Surely you have not been blind to the incidents that have been happening out of the ordinary this year? Specifically on Mister Malfoy and Miss Granger. I will admit that giving them detention in the Third Floor Corridor was not an advisable thing, I had assumed neither would be inclined to go anywhere near the trap door let alone open it. The sole purpose was to get it cleaned, as you had requested I give it to the next people for detention. Since it was those two I didn't see it fit to put protection on the door. Unfortunately I was sadly mistaken, and this resulted in a most undesirable consequence. However you did not at all assist to make the situation any better, forcing Miss Granger to take Mister Malfoy's situation into her own hands. We are very lucky she is such a good student that she was able to help him.

"But you continue to let things happen, and even encourage them. They were in a binding contract for that movie you allowed to be made for them. Why-"

"Ah, Minerva, I had no idea she was going to bind them into acting in that, nor did I know that our dear colleague had them in mind. I was focusing solely on the beneficial effect it would have on the school. I do suspect that she may have gotten a little carried away with certain scenes in the performance, but it seemed to open the eyes of our students."

"What do you say about the pictures?"

"My dear woman, you do not think I am the culprit of putting those photographs up?" He scolded her gently, "I admit to not knowing who has done it."

"Of course, of course." She sighed, "what of the potion? Surely you did not expect three students to end up in the Hospital Wing? I am surprised the ministry has not inquired, yet, about the kind of things we do in Hogwarts."

Dumbledore nodded, "that was a sad turn of events. Madame Pomfrey has informed me that both Mister Malfoy and Miss Granger were in peak condition when she released them, and that Miss Parkinson is making a full recovery and seems quite well right now. I had agreed with Severus to let them make the potion as a quick way to see what it will be like in his class next year, but I did not anticipate that they would test it or that she would somehow get two doses of it. However Severus has given me a bit of information that clears up the cloudy information."

"The information being…?" Minerva prompted.

"Unfortunately I can't discuss this with you right now, Minerva. Just know that when a few more variables are revealed, I shall confide in you first."

"What I have been trying to illustrate," Minerva began after a slight pause, "is that I think someone is interfering with those two. Their intentions do not seem to be bad in the case of the movie and pictures, but the potion, bludger, and now the slash, Albus?"

"I think it would be safe to assume that there are two parties at work here, with different destinations in view." He said, his voice was measuring as though with each word he was calculating something.

"But what are they both aiming for?"

"We cannot be sure." Something about his tone made her wonder exactly how vast the difference was between how much he knew in comparison to how much he was telling her.

-

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-

Lunch was an uncomfortable affair due to the pictures adjourning the walls. Whoever had put them up had also been so bold as to sprinkle them through the halls as well. The teachers had announced that there was a permanent sticking charm in action, but it was cast clumsily and wouldn't last very long. Madame Pomfrey had fixed Hermione up quickly and her leg was good as new, save the small ache that she experienced if she over-stretched it.

"Granger have you noticed someone seems to have an uncommon fascination with you and me?" Draco said quietly to her.

"It's hard not to." She said dryly, "with the exception of the ones with Blaise, of course."

"Why do you say Blaise?"

"Because that's his name." She said slowly, wondering where this conversation was going and already half knowing.

"You call him by his first name but me by my last. Why?"

"He and I have never clashed. He has never initiated fights with me, and I've talked to him a few times. He's not that that bad. And with you…I've just never not. We've never been on a first name basis before, and I've never wanted to be." She found this answer to be the best one she could come up with. "The whole mutual hate thing was working pretty well."

"Was?" He asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Yes, was." She didn't elaborate any more and Draco found himself wrapped up in talking to Blaise for the rest of lunch. They finished up and walked back to their dormitory. Draco had a small ball of excitement and relief bubbling up inside him, it was finally over. Almost.

They spent the remaining time lounging around in their common room, finishing up any extra work and writing letters. When it reached 5:00 Harry and Draco were shut into the Potions room. They weren't quite sure why they put the people in there, but it just seemed necessary so they did. Hermione and Blaise settled back down on the sofa, the exact time it would wear off they weren't sure about.

"Blaise…did Harry say anything to you that…about…" She was not sure how to put this without making it too obvious if he didn't know.

"Ginny?" He asked and she nodded. "Yeah I know all about her, and his feelings."

"You're not going to say anything about it to anyone, are?" She added a slight undertone to her voice to warn him that he had better not.

"Harry and I are doing pretty well together. I think you underestimate our ability to get along." She simply raised an eyebrow, was he avoiding the question on purpose? "I won't mention it."

"Did you say Harry?" She asked, allowing herself to be surprised now that the other matter had been sorted out.

Blaise smirked in a friendly way, "if you and Draco weren't so wrapped up in each other I'm sure you would have realized we've been on a first name basis for awhile."

"We haven't been- we're not-" She was saved from her stuttering as the door flew open.

"I am free at last." Pansy announced as she strode into the room. "I will be right back, I need to change." They followed her with their eyes as she breezed right past them into her room. They waited in silence and then she re-emerged with a fresh pair of robes on.

Pansy collapsed beside Blaise on the couch and began to chatter excitedly about how she would be able to play Quidditch after all and crush Blaise's team into the ground and how glad she was that she was out because Madame Pomfrey was nice but she got kind of violent if you didn't want to drink the potion _right_ then.

-

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-

Draco watched Harry intently in the room they were being confined to.

"What?" Harry snapped.

"If someone murdered Granger would you go after them?" Draco asked suddenly.

"Yes." Harry replied instantly, "If anyone touches my friends they have me to answer to."

"When that guy, Black, died did you kill whoever did it?" He wasn't quite sure about that part, Sirius Black was never a name that came up in talks with his father.

"No." Harry said bitterly. "But if I ever get the chance, I will kill Bellatrix."

So Hermione's assumption was right, Harry would go for revenge. If someone like Voldemort knew that they could use it for their advantage. Of course, Harry had never actually killed someone, but he thought if he was given the opportunity he could manage it. If he couldn't, well then he'd hurt them to the best of his ability and then turn them over to someone who could.

"Why?"

"What?" He asked, unsure of what he was being asked.

"Why do you want to know?"

So he explained it, briefly but informatively. "Granger told me people would kill her so you would go looking for them so you could kill them. She thinks the Dark Lord would use that to get to you."

"He's done that kind of thing before." He felt a pang of guilt and longing for Sirius.

"What would you do if you found them?"

Harry' eyes flashed. "I would kill them." It seemed Harry wasn't nearly as cowardly as he'd assumed.

"You really care about her."

"She's my best friend. No, she's more then that, she's my family. I love her like a sister, if anyone hurts her I will make them regret it. After Ron and I are done, people will know not to touch anyone we care about ever again."

"Would you die for her?" He couldn't help but ask, would this man jump in front of a killing curse for her?

"Without hesitation." They were silent and then- "for the record, Malfoy, if you really do join the other side and you get in my way, I won't think twice about your life, because you would be on the side intent on hurting people I love. Is that really the life you want?"

"I…don't know. Everything I used to _know _I don't even _think_ is right anymore… I'm scared-"

Both their eyes flashed and then looks of horror dawned both faces. Without another glance they both walked slowly out of the room as their minds went wild.

-

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-

The door to the Potions room opened and all three people looked over. Harry walked robotically right to his room, frowning. Draco came out, looked over at the three on the couch and his eyes rested on Hermione. Then he turned and hurried to his bedroom. Hermione understood the feeling, he needed to sit alone and think over everything he had done.

"Uh oh, Draco looks upset." Pansy muttered.

"I was hoping that wouldn't happen." Hermione admitted, though thinking Draco would be perfectly okay with everything they'd said was insane.

"What happened with you two?" Blaise asked.

"We talked…no big deal." She said, they hadn't fallen in love or anything like that. That seemed impossible.

"Talking is a _very _big deal." Pansy said seriously, "Draco never talks. He just doesn't."

"Is that even possible?" She said and rolled her eyes, "he'll have to talk eventually. Besides, we're supposed to have a Quidditch practice tonight. Honestly, life would be so much less complicated without Quidditch."

"Quidditch is not complicated." Blaise protested.

"Oh please, you only play it so you can get away from all the people trying to force you into things you don't want to do." Pansy scoffed, "it's sad."

"What's sad is that obsession you have with Draco." Her smirk vanished, " and that you still haven't gotten the message that he doesn't like you."

Hermione glanced at Pansy and saw how the words cut her, no matter how hard she pretended the didn't. But her affection with Draco wasn't real, was it? It seemed more like a show then anything in public, a way to get attention…

"Why do Slytherins insist on doing that?" Hermione asked suddenly, recalling a conversation she and Draco had had. "Dig deep into other people's wounds? What do you get, satisfaction?"

"Slytherins do not feel. It doesn't matter." Blaise answered after a long silence. "Besides we're not supposed to be stupid enough to let people know what bothers us."

"I don't understand, don't you get lonely?"

"No." Pansy said stubbornly.

"I see." That was a lie. "What about if someone really does care?"

Blaise hesitated. "They don't, we've changed them."

"You _what_?" She asked, "What do you do?"

"Granger you're not going to approve anyway, there's no point in telling you." He said, exchanging a significant look with Pansy.

"If I call you Blaise and Pansy, Pansy, shouldn't you call me Hermione? And please, I really wanted to know, I'm not going to report to a teacher or anything."

Blaise sucked in a deep breath and then began to talk. "On your first night after being sorted into Slytherin the entire house gathers in the common room for a sort of, initiation ceremony. They line us all up and tell you the expectations we're to hold up and then make you step forward and introduce yourself by saying your name and your parents. That way people know how they can treat you, for example people treat Draco better then both Pansy and I because of what- _who _ his dad is.

"Then they do a kind of interview, and ask you how you feel about muggleborns and what the word mudblood means to you, what your secrets are, things like that. If you answer the question wrong, they…punish you."

She gasped, they beat eleven year old children? "So you two…"

Pansy nodded, "I went first. It wasn't so bad, I have a good pureblood family and answered the questions pretty well. Of course, Draco had it the best. He answered everything right, he smirked haughtily at everyone, and when the guy asked him for his secrets he punched him and said 'stay the hell out of my business'."

"Who had it the worst?" She wanted to know but feared the answer.

"I did." Blaise said and smiled faintly, "my parents were…unsure, so they only taught me a few basic prejudices. I had no guts and wasn't going to tell anyone to stay the hell out _my_ business."

"That's brutal." She said as she sat there in shock.

Pansy shrugged, "that's life. Brutal."

"Besides," Blaise added, "Slytherins need to be strong. We can't have someone ruining the image we have."

That did it. She stood up angrily. "Image? So you beat eleven year olds every year for an _image_? That is _disgusting_! Are you honestly happy with where you are now? Do you want people to be heartless pigs that feel nothing for an i_mage_? You're going to regret your decision when you stand in Voldemort's," they flinched, "yes, _Voldemort's_ circle of people he would dispose of without even thinking with the Dark Mark branded on your arm and realize what kind of hell you've walked into. When we meet in the battle I _know_ will come I hope you realize you could have been on the other side but lost the chance over your own stupidity." Blaise actually flinched back from her and Pansy stared open mouthed.

She stormed to her room and slammed the door, not caring that she'd just been incredibly immature. They'd said she wouldn't like it but still… Now more then ever she wished she had some way to get into the Slytherin house and make them listen to her.

How could they sit there and explain to her what they'd gone through and continue to say they didn't do anything to prevent it from happening again? Why were the Slytherins obsessed with not showing any emotion to other people? It didn't make them stronger, it made them appear like completely different people then what they really were. She came up with one conclusion: brutal.

Life was brutal and she was going to have to get used to it.

**A/N Another chapter up. You know this story has almost been going for a year, eh? Wow. That seems like such a long time. Anyway…did anyone else find themselves wallowing in depression after they read the last HP book? I didn't want to do anything and I actually gave up on fanfiction for a bit. But as you can see, I'm back on again. **

**OMG! I don't know if any of you have read Twilight or New Moon** **by Stephenie Meyer? Well the next book in that series is called Eclipse and it comes out on the 7****th**** of August and now I am totally ecstatic and super excited!! **

**(Oh I keep forgetting these) Recommendation:**

**When You Lose Your Way- sevengee ( I don't normally like the whole Hermione gets pregnant because I am very picky about the things I read, but this one is believable, cute, funny, and just all around good. The situation is not far-fetched at all).**


	18. Fate Tempted

**THIS IS MY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY WITH THIS STORY!!! WOOO!!!**

**A/N I apologize profusely for the length of this chapter, I labeled the pages in my book wrong so that page 7 was actually page 17 and all the chapters range between 29-33 pages in my book so this one is much shorter then I would have liked and I feel very bad about that and I am so sorry for those of you who wanted nice long chapters and didn't get one this update because this is only about half the length that my usual chapters are.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter.**

Draco was not happy. Not only had he spoken about his innermost feelings, but to Hermione Granger of all people. She knew that he cared about her. He hadn't even known that he'd cared about her. He'd also admitted he was scared to Harry Potter. Could his life be any more ruined?

He lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling, wishing that he had an eye-pop, that muggle thing he knew Hermione had. He wouldn't admit it, but the muggle music she listened to was not that bad. He kind of liked it.

Much to his chagrin he realized that there was a scheduled Quidditch practice, it cut into his time for skulking. He glanced at the time, 6:17, and knew he should be going down to dinner. The thought of socializing with anyone, even for a short period of time, made him feel uneasy. Hermione would just have to come to the pitch with him early and skip dinner.

At 6:29 he couldn't put off moving any longer and got up. The common room was empty so he went to Hermione's door and knocked quietly. She didn't answer so he knocked again, louder. There was no answer. Knowing that she couldn't have left without his knowledge he got ready to bang on the door as it flew open. She had the eye-pop he'd been thinking about in her hand and he could hear the music from where he was standing.

"Oh!" The music stopped.

There was an awkward silence in which Draco found himself examining the horrendously colored pink room over Hermione's shoulder.

"Did you want to get some dinner?" She asked tentatively. _Hmm. Avoidance. Good plan. Just don't bring it up at all._

"No." He found that he didn't seem capable of explaining what he wanted, forcing that one word out of his mouth was hard.

"Alright. Did you want to talk to me?" Her chocolate eyes held his gaze for a minute and he dropped his eyes to the floor. Why did he feel so weak? Especially in front of her?

"No I…er…wanted to go to…pitch. Quidditch pitch." He felt a small gleam of triumph and then disgust at his inability to speak. Never before had he felt so truly and completely useless.

She smiled uneasily at him and then spoke in the same, gentle voice she'd been using before. "Okay, let's go then."

He didn't move so she walked around him slowly, as if unsure he knew she was there.

"Do you have your broom?"

He shook his head and retrieved it from his room. Then they set off to the pitch. To his relief she purposefully avoided students in the halls and managed to avoid contact with everyone. It wasn't like he'd even talked to many people, it was the ones he had talked to that mattered. Granger, Potter, a bit of Blaise, Pansy and Merlin forbid that idiot Weasley.

The best thing about Quidditch-flying, really- was how he forgot everything while at the same time let his thoughts re-arrange themselves. Originally he's just been on the team because he'd wanted to beat Harry and try to make his father proud of him.

He'd flown before then, but it was more to prove that he was higher then anyone else because he could afford a broom and knew how to fly. But as soon as he realized he couldn't beat Harry, and stress started to build up (parallel to his father's expectations) it had become therapeutic. Unknown to anyone besides Blaise (who sometimes used to join him) he would wake up at 3:00 in the morning and fly until breakfast.

One of the strange things about Blaise was how open he was, but at the same time how much he was able to hold back. Draco knew many things about the dark skinned man that no one else knew about. It was almost hard to let Blaise trust him so much, because he couldn't return it.

Now he wished that he could beat Harry and do what he loved, he couldn't help but worry sometimes that if he didn't win Lucius would take him off the team. Harry seemed to love Quidditch even more then he did, and he could almost put his finger on why. It was like it was in front of him but his finger tips could only brush the reasoning behind it. The Boy-Who-Lived was much more complicated then he'd first assumed. The thing that really irritated him was how he seemed so at ease on his broom, like he was made to be there.

He cast the fear-charm on Hermione as they neared the center of the pitch, and then they stood still.

"Malfoy I just want you to know-"

"Stop. Already it sounds like some happy Gryffindor mush. I don't need a happy chat, and least of all do I need to talk to you." She flinched and he supposed he didn't need to speak so harshly, but the fact that he was able to say something intelligent let him ignore the flicker of guilt he felt.

"I thought that…" She either didn't know how to phrase what she wanted to say or was too afraid to say it.

"Thought what? That we could be friends? You and I cannot be friends. We can't be anything, alright? Will you stop messing that all up now? We just can't. Now get on the broom."

"Why do you always push people away?" She asked, her eyes slightly teary and she bit her lip.

"We were never close to being with so it doesn't matter." He swung over the broom and waited until she pulled herself up after him. As soon as her arms were wrapped around his waist securely he was off, soaring into the air.

He dove, swirled, twisted and dived in the air, all his problems seemed minuscule now, like the ground. As through the wind had picked them off his person and carried them away. He ignored the tightening of her arms, her muffled gasps and how she was shaking as easily as he shoved her reaction when he'd spat those words out of his mind.

But he couldn't ignore how closely she was pressed against him and he couldn't stop wondering what she had been going to say to him. It didn't matter, though.

Time flew (no pun intended) as he soared around the pitch and soon a small trek of people was coming closer. As he landed by the change rooms his problems came back with every step he took.

"Here are your brooms. I got Father to send me them, I suppose you don't need one anymore, Granger, but I have it anyway so you may as well keep it. They're the newer version of the Cleansweep, because father refused to buy you anything above or below that level." He handed Lavender, Pansy, and Hermione an identical broom. "We're just going to do what we did last time."

He changed into his robes and tried not to get impatient when Hermione took twice as long as he did. She was still shaking from when they'd entered the change rooms and he did the spell again, banishing the bit of guilt he felt.

Crabbe was showing Pansy how to use the bat and she seemed to be picking things up fairly quickly, for which he was grateful. There wouldn't be another mishap like before. Lavender took up shooting against Ernie and he pretended not to watch her. She was pretty good, she just needed more power behind the shots because he had to admit, Ron wasn't as awful as he would have liked. Ernie, he noticed, had decided to give up on the stupid embellishments he'd been using and actually try to catch the Quaffle and was doing so with more success.

Crabbe was now chucking balls at Pansy and she was hitting them back, hard. Draco did an abrupt dive and then pulled up. Hermione gasped and pressed her forehead into the back of his robes.

"Spell?"

"In place." She answered him after a moment of hesitation, probably to keep her voice from shaking.

How could she be scared of flying? The thing he felt the most passionate and she hated it. They were opposites in so many ways.

Seamus shot next and Draco decided that he was trying so hard to throw quickly enough that Ernie missed it, so he ended up missing the hoops. Lavender was the opposite, and Terry had aim and power so now he needed to shoot in motion and reflexively.

"Chasers over here!" Draco shouted and they soared over to meet him. "You're doing a drill. Brown, you're going to throw as hard as you can at Finnegan. Finnegan you pass to Boot, and Boot you're shooting the second you get the Quaffle at the hoops. Macmillan you get it and pass it back to Boot, who passes back to Finnegan and so on. The trick is you can't move from your spot so if the Quaffle falls short, the person that threw it has to get it and keep passing until it reaches the destination. I don't want any hesitation. You get the Quaffle you pass it. No drifting!"

They nodded and he positioned them, before leaving Lavender he showed her how to improve her power, before leaving her behind and positioning Seamus. After they were all where he wanted them to be and he had given them advice on whatever their problem was, they started the drill and he settled back to watch.

Lavender threw first to Seamus and it fell short the long distance of about halfway. So did the second, third, fourth, and fifth. She let out a frustrated growl and threw it again. It fell gracefully into Seamus's hands and there was a shocked silence. Then Seamus threw and it spiraled off to the right. He pelted after it and tried again. Terry caught it easily and threw it haphazardly away the second it was in his hands. Draco sighed, not used to having a less then satisfactory team.

It was a fine moment for everyone when they finally went through without dropping the Quaffle once and Terry even got the goal after dodging a flying bludger. So they rotated position and started up again. Draco took this time to turn his attention to his two beaters. He hadn't realized they even had the bludgers out until Terry dodged it. Pansy and Crabbe were passing one bludger back and forth, never letting them stray more then a meter out of their control.

"Everyone in!" He bellowed and the team flew in to surround him. "Okay, I want everyone in the Great Hall eating breakfast by 8:00 tomorrow morning. I want you in the change rooms dressed and ready and hour before the game. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded and they flew down to land on the ground. He was the last person, landing was not something he wanted to do. But he did. Every step he took his problems screamed for attention until he was on the point of screaming back at them to shut up. Which would, of course, make him look like a crazed lunatic.

Usually he didn't think about things like he was now. He had a method, all he had to do was shut out his thoughts that he didn't want to think about before they could surface. Eventually it became second nature. But that damn potion he'd had to drink had ruined everything! It was harder to shut his thoughts away because they impulsively came up and he voiced them, too. Even after the potion was done, he was so used to having the thoughts slip through the barrier he had constructed that they bombarded his shields and ripped them to shreds. Needless to say he was on edge and snappy.

He had actually considered taking the bat from Pansy's hand and hitting himself on the head with it when Hermione said his name in an annoyingly warm and gentle voice.

"What?" It came out a bit more irritated and whiny then he had planned.

"Never mind." She muttered, her eyes downcast. A surge of annoyance passed through him, why bother interrupting his thoughts and then blowing him off?

"What?"

"Nothing, just forget it." She murmured.

"Come on Granger, you've already disturbed me, just get it over with." He said and rolled his eyes, Merlin this girl was annoying.

"I just," she paused uncertainly, "wanted to know if you're doing okay."

That halted him in his tracks. What? Great, now the ghost of this conversation would be haunting his brain. Why did she have to sound like she actually cared when she asked anyway? A small voice in his head was telling him that maybe she did but he ignored it. She wasn't allowed to care about him. Not like he cared about her, which happened to be a lot. And that was unacceptable.

So he ignored her and started walking again. Let her think he wasn't okay, he was fine! Just peachy. Then he wondered where in the world he had heard _that_ before. Mentally shrugging he dismissed that particular aspect of his life.

So then he thought about Blaise.

Blaise and his stupid crush on Hermione, Blaise and his stupid inability to understand what Voldemort and his Death Eaters stood for, Blaise and his stupid first name basis with his Houses' enemy, Blaise and his stupid way of relaxing and thinking about nothing while Draco's mind raged inside his head…

"So Draco you're coming to the Common Room with me, right? With the rest of the Slytherins?" Pansy asked. He noticed some kind of change in her voice but couldn't pin point it due to lack of attention.

"Sure," he said in an offhand way. Hermione's eyes were boring into his back but he tried not to care that she thought his back could somehow pick up her brainwaves and make him understand.

He changed quickly and waited impatiently for Hermione. Time felt like it was passing so slowly and every second was a minute. A minute he didn't have to spare that was being wasted by Hermione Granger.

"Took you long enough." He grumbled as she emerged from the bathroom. She blinked, a slightly hurt look passing across her face. He knew why, this was the fastest she had ever changed. He tried not to wonder if maybe she'd hurried for him. They walked up to the castle and saw Harry, Blaise and Pansy emerging from Dumbledore's office.

Harry looked kind of mechanic, like the lights were on but nobody was home. As though his mind was somewhere completely different. He looked exactly like Draco felt.

Pansy took his arm and steered him to the Slytherin lair with the others walking silently behind them. The door flew open as Pansy murmured the password and she led him through. When Harry and Hermione walked in every single Slytherin tensed and shouted, "_expelliarmus!"_

"_Protego_!" In a second Harry's wand was out and blocking the spell.

"Stop!" Blaise shouted and everyone quieted down, "you can't touch them."

"Says who?" An unpleasant fifth year sneered. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry's hand tighten on his wand and Hermione whispering in his ear.

"We do." Blaise stepped forward to stand beside Pansy and Draco. He made a big show of rolling his eyes and sighing reluctantly before nodding so no one thought he actually cared if they blasted the two Gryffindors. It was one of the only moments he actually felt like he was _there. _

Grumbling, people resumed their previous activities, though one hand always lingered by their wands. Constant glances were always thrown at Draco as though he would give the signal to attack.

He felt Pansy leading him over to a couch and saw the users scramble out of the way, because that's how it worked with the Slytherins. Harry and Hermione sat down in the couch opposite and Blaise sat down in a squashy arm chair beside them.

He sat down and Pansy took her spot beside him.

"So Draco," she purred in his ear, "what did I miss while I was in the Hospital Wing?"

"Hmm?" He glanced over to see her looking admiringly at him beneath her eyelashes. "Nothing important."

He turned away and saw a girl sitting on an armrest beside Blaise, flirting with him. If it hadn't been for the two awkward and on edge Gryffindors it would have been almost back to normal. As he watched Blaise and the girl, his thoughts once again turned to his friend. Members of the opposite sex were drawn to his exotically handsome looks and his personality.

He couldn't help but look back on how many girlfriends Blaise had had…only two. That was strange. He knew Blaise was not afraid of committing himself, and could get plenty if he wanted. As much as people thought otherwise, there _were_ healthy relationships in Slytherin. In fact, a few Slytherins had actually been involved with Ravenclaws. They were on more neutral ground then the other two houses. Gryffindor was their enemy, and Hufflepuff was just too embarrassing. They just didn't interact with the Ravenclaws more because that house was mostly pitted against them, though.

"Of course not," Pansy breathed, "but I was afraid you might find another girl."

Draco snorted, "right."

Another girl? Pansy had never been his girl in the first place. They had no relationship, and there was quite a lot of show in how they interacted. When they were alone there was no snogging or sexual references. Well sometimes there was. Occasionally.

Pansy beamed with happiness and before he realized that she'd misinterpreted his comment she'd attacked his lips with her own.

It wasn't a huge shock, to have Pansy kissing him. Sometimes he let himself enjoy the special treatment and went along with it, like he tried to then. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she moved closer to him, ecstatic from his response. She ran one of her hands through his silky blonde hair and with the other she moved it to his left shoulder. It didn't feel right. He didn't like the feeling of Pansy's over-eager lips on his own, or her body pressed tightly to him in a position she was clearly satisfied with. He didn't want to snog her brains out, so why was he still engaged in the activity?

Thoroughly confused by these thoughts he went along with it anyway, it didn't matter. Why was he over thinking everything? Who cared is Pansy was on top of him and kissing him like there was no tomorrow in front of the other Slytherins, not to mention Harry and Hermione?

In the end it was Pansy who pulled away first. She had one leg overlapping his, her body was pressed firmly against his side, one hand crossing his chest to his shoulder, and the other resting on the shoulder closest to her.

"I was thinking," she said breathlessly in his ear, "about how much I wanted to do that all week."

"Mmm." He said, drifting into his thoughts again.

She giggled into his ear and he turned his head away. Blaise was watching them intently. It wasn't as weird as it should have been, people were used to seeing Blaise staring at them. He was either wrapped up in his own thoughts and wasn't looking at _you_ but was simply looking unseeingly forward, or he _was_ looking at you and was building up thoughts about something involving you.

His eyes locked Blaise's for a second and he swore he saw understanding flash across his face. "Blaise," he found himself saying, "you know that talk we had about that person you like?"

The dark skinned man simply nodded. "Do you still like that person?"

Blaise smiled faintly and shook his head. So Blaise didn't like Hermione anymore. He found relief ebbing into system.

"You know I think we should go somewhere more private." Pansy said, her hot breath irritated him beyond sense. "It's been awhile since we've been really alone."

"Yeah."

"I think you should come up to the girls dormitory with me." She said. "How about it?"

It took him a moment to process what she was saying and she went in for more kisses. As she separated for a bit of air he leaned his head away, "no."

"What do you mean Draco?" She asked and leaned in again.

He pushed her off him, "Can you ever just leave me alone? Crawling all over me is not attractive, it's disgusting. You repulse me beyond belief and my life would be so much nicer if you weren't in it. Now go away." His words were harsh and she recoiled from him, hurt flashing across her face. Had he looked at Blaise he would have seen disappointment etched into his features, but he didn't.

"Blaise, Potter, let's go." Pansy said in a strangled voice and choked back a sob as she stood up and ran to the door, yanked it open and hurried through it. The other boys were quick to follow, neither keen on experiencing what Hermione and Draco had.

Hermione was practically bouncing across from him and Draco shook his head at a fourth year who looked like he was going to hex her. When at last he could stand her impatience no longer he stood up and they walked back to their own dormitory. They opened the door and found Blaise and Harry talking quietly by the fire. When the door opened they took several steps away from each other and watched Draco walk in.

He stalked by them to his room and slammed the door, letting his emotions be known. Faintly he heard Hermione asking where Pansy was. Who did that girl think she was? She just couldn't leave other people alone. If she continued to make people think she cared about them, someone was going to get really hurt. A voice so small he couldn't hear it in the back of his head said that it might be him.

-

-

Pansy was in her bedroom, crying softly into a pink pillow that, Hermione thought bitterly, was a much more bearable color then her room was.

"Pansy?" She asked softly, allowing her presence to be known as she moved closer.

"Go away, G-Granger." Pansy choked out half-heartedly. All bitter thoughts about the room color were driven from her mind.

"Please, I just want to talk to you. As a friend." She sat and sat down beside her on the bed.

"Slytherins don't h-have friends f-from Gryffindor."

"Don't think of me as a Gryffindor, think of me as Hermione." She replied, "tell me what's wrong."

"I c-can't."

"Yes you can." Hermione insisted.

"I j-just," the blonde sat up and faced her, " the only way I get noticed by D-Draco is if I act like h-his number one girl t-toy. He gives me a s-small p-portion of his attention when I'm like that. B-But he told m-me I w-was repulsive and-_hic_- what if he leaves me? He could have anyone h-he w-wants and I don't want to b-become a dist-_hic_-ant acquaintance of his. I just d-don't understand. You're nothing to h-him, you're muggleborns, you're b-best friends –_hic_- with his worst enemy, you n-never have to fight for his attention and h-he gives it to you! He spends time ranting a-about you -_hic_- and your friends, but I'm only w-worth a few minutes of his t-time?"

Hermione hesitated. "If you have to defile yourself to get his attention you'd be better off without him. I've cried because of him too, Pansy, trust me when I say it's not worth your time. Guys that always expect something in return are worth nothing."

Pansy shook her head, "Draco is w-worth a lot –_hic_- of things."

It was Hermione's turn to shake her head. "Right now it seems like it. But when he's with another girl or he leaves you alone does he still feel like your everything?"

The teary eyed girl sniffed as a lone tear trickled down her cheek, "you don't understand."

She felt an uncontrollable flash of anger. "I don't? I don't understand the feeling that you always have to have his eyes on you or else he'll realize what worthless trash you are? That you have to prove how worthy you are of him because he's so much better then you? That empty hollow ache inside you when you realize that you really are worth nothing? Tell me, Pansy, what don't I understand?"

Pansy flinched and Hermione sighed, forcing herself to be calm. "I guess we've both really screwed up, huh?"

Suddenly an idea hit her so hard she gasped. It would be difficult but under the circumstances easier…

"What would you do if I told you I could give you the opportunity to be someone else?" Hermione asked slowly.

Pansy looked her straight in the eye, "I would say let's do it."

-

-

And so the day finished with no one really knowing what the consequences of their actions was.

Or what a few words had done to tempt fate and set it on a course set straight for hell.

And they had no idea it would bring them closer then they ever thought possible.

**-**

**-**

**A/N Cringes Don't hurt me! I told you it would be short. **

**This chapter is one of a two-part thing that is way further into the story called, 'Tempted Fate,' you know, Fate is Tempted then the Tempted Fate. Yeah. By the way, '**_fate_**' is not a word I wanted to use but it worked best. Fate, is basically what their choices made/are making happen.**

**Reasons you should give me a nice long review:**

**One year anniversary so next update I am going to give shout-outs to everyone that reviewed for this chapter**

**My birthday is in six days and I was going to wait until then but decided to give it you earlier**

**You love me 3 **

**You know I love you 3 Smiles innocently **

**Reviews replenish my excitement for writing this**

**Since it is the one year anniversary you can ask me any question you want and I will give you a private answer no one else can read. (Obviously it can't be 'who is after Hermione?' but it could be 'is it someone we know after Hermione?' or 'is someone at Hogwarts trying to kill Hermione?' Questions that wouldn't ruin the plot for you. Things more like, 'Does Blaise really not fancy Hermione?' 'Is there more to Blaise then we think?' 'Will Blaise ever get a girl?' 'Will Harry and Ginny get together soon?' 'Will Pansy ever love someone else?' Things like that.**

**The person that gives me the 102****nd**** review (I got one flame and one review from my sister that said 'I FOUND YOU' so I don't count them as reviews so the 102****nd**** would be the real 100) will make an appearance shortly in my fic, actually it's the next chapter. (If they are female. If you are male, tell me because there is an alternate option.) Of course if I don't get six reviews then I'll have to change the prize or something…**

**If you are an anonymous reviewer I will find some way to contact you. **

**So…REVIEW! (0:**


	19. The Game

**A/N Hey hey hey it's just an ordinary day! That song is still stuck in my head, lol. Oh and I couldn't resist. I edited again. I'm sorry but some of my chapters were so cringe worthy I couldn't read them at all! So…**

**There was no Quidditch game between Slytherin and Gryffindor. It was cancelled due to Draco's blindness.**

**That whole truth or dare thing, Hermione never stood up and said that. Dumbledore made an announcement to the school to not hold the sixth years' actions against them.**

**And more cringe worthy things like sentences and all. The biggest changes were in chapter eight, I think.**

**My 102****nd**** reviewer was ****AlLiThElLaMaLuVeR, who is Allison(Allie) in this chapter. Congrats!**

**Disclaimer-I could spend time trying to create a witty and humorous disclaimer, or I could type the chapter. I choose the latter.**

The next morning Hermione woke with her stomach twisting. Their game was today. Broomsticks, bludgers, dives, people flying hundreds of feet in the air. She bolted out of bed and ran into the bathroom where whatever her stomach had held was vomited back up. With her insides emptied out she bushed her teeth and wiped her face and then stepped into the shower. The water was so cold it bit her skin in a series of burning flashes. She twisted the dial to scalding hot, trying to cleanse her mind through her skin. It didn't work and the ache of apprehension that had hit her so suddenly haunted her.

She turned off the water and grabbed a towel. After she'd wrapped it firmly around herself she darted out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. Whatever clothes her hands could reach she threw on and then strode into the common room. Distraction was the best method.

Leafing through books failed horribly because she just read the same sentence over and over again. Her other, less used but possibly more effective, method was music. She jogged to get her iPod, somehow under the delusion that moving faster would leave her fear behind. To get the muggle device to work was not actually very hard. She just had to use a spell to trigger energy and convert it into power without the use of batteries, and she didn't think that Arthur Weasley's department would have to track her down because the only difference was the absence of batteries.

Normally she would have kept the volume at a moderate, but instead she cranked it up to full blast and closed her eyes. It was only 6:30, after all, so she shouldn't be disturbed for awhile…

Her tranquility was wrenched away, along with her headphones, by Draco Malfoy.

"Granger it's quarter to eight." He said, already walking to the door, "I've been calling you for the past five minutes."

"Oh." Her mouth was dry and she tucked her iPod into her pocket, not wanting to put it back in her room. She followed him to the Great Hall, clutching her stomach. She hadn't really thought about the match at all and now she was suffering.

Draco did a good impression of Oliver Wood as he stalked up and down the table, making sure his team was eating and glancing impatiently at the doors for the ones that weren't down yet.

"Eat," he pushed a plate of bacon at her as he glared at Lavender and poked his watch's face.

She took a slow, exaggerated bite and immediately regretted it. Her stomach contracted and to keep it down she had to drink a long sip of water, willing her churning stomach to settle. This was worse then at exam time.

"Miss Granger I would like to see you in my office after-" Professor McGonagall's voice broke off as she looked at the girl. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Her voice came out hoarse and cracked.

"Are you sure?"

"Professor she's fine, we've got everything under control." Draco said dismissively as he sized up the other team's players.

"If you're sure. As I was saying, Miss Granger, I'd like to see you in my office after the game. Good luck."

"So interfering." Draco muttered as the Deputy Headmistress strode out of the hall. "Lets go."

He was already walking to the door by the time Hermione looked up. As she stumbled after him she wondered about his ignorant behavior. At least the small portion of her brain that wasn't envisioning scenarios involving her plunging to her death. Had he even looked at her all morning?

They reached the change rooms and she pulled robes on in the area she and Lavender had marked as their own. As she emerged she discovered Draco pacing and the benches occupied by Ernie, Terry and Pansy, who had come dressed.

"Granger I need you to hold this up." Draco waved at the whiteboard propped against the bench. She did a simple sticking charm and it was on the wall.

"Are you okay?" Ernie asked in a concerned voice when she turned back.

"Fine." She managed to choke out.

"I think you should sit down." Terry said.

"She's fine. We know a few spells that counteract her fear." Draco said dismissively.

The rest of the team filtered in and got dressed silently, all seemed restless and nervous.

"Are you alright?" Seamus asked awkwardly and kissed her cheek as he came in.

She was quite proud of the weak smile she was able to produce in response.

"Sit down Finnegan, this is no time for socializing." Draco barked. Seamus threw him a nasty look but didn't object.

"This is our first game, a chance to prove ourselves as one that we are the competition among these teams. Do not over think things. Go with your gut. Don't try to do what people in the stands want. If they get on a broom and accomplish everything you can better then fine, but they're not out there. None of them are doing what you're doing. None of them understand, because this is your moment, not theirs. In the end you look to your team first. Don't try to impress anyone, because you'll end up looking stupid.

"Beaters, only worry about the bludgers. Chasers, make sure you're aware of your surroundings because the other team's beaters will be aiming for you if you're near the Quaffle. Keeper, do not drift or get sidetracked, watch the chasers' body language. And Granger, you can just hold on." He turned to her and cast the spell, but focused his gaze on the wall behind her head. But no relief from the anxiety clawing at her was found.

"Better?"

"No."

An annoyed frown crossed his face and he re-cast the spell. It didn't work. Pure panic began to mount. What if the spell just didn't work? What would she do? She drew in a shaky breath.

"I think she's going to pass out. Or be sick."

For the first time that morning Draco looked at her. "Holy Granger, sit down!"

As she sat down on the bench he went on, "what's wrong with you? Did you eat?" She only shrugged and shook her head. "Why didn't you eat? Are you sick? Damn it why now?"

"Are you really that thick?" Lavender snapped, surprising them all, "if you paid any attention to her this morning you'd have to realize she's been like that the entire time. She probably would've thrown up the bacon you brutally shoved at her. I'm taking her into the bathroom."

She stood up and helped Hermione into the washroom where she gave her a cool glass of water. "Hermione, I know this will sound weird, but are you pregnant?"

The water in her mouth shot out. "No!"

"Are you sure." She asked meaningfully.

"Yes, I'm positive. Right now is my-my time of the month."

"Ooh is that why you're holding your stomach? Cramps? I remember, sometimes you got them really bad. I have some herbs and stuff back in my room if you want." She declined and they headed back out into the other room. Draco was showing them several weaknesses he knew the other team had and the best ways to attack those weak points.

"Granger just do whatever you need to do to relax." He spared a glance at her and continued his explanation. Lavender rolled her eyes and then resumed her position on the benches.

Music. The only cure. She fished out her iPod and stuck the earpieces into her ears. Deep breaths.

It felt as though only seconds had gone by before Lavender was telling her that they were leaving for the pitch and that Draco had already cast the spell on her. There was no intense need to throw up. No bad feeling clawing at her chest. No desire to scream and run like a madwoman. It was working.

They filed out onto the pitch and Draco and Blaise shook hands, both smirking. Then Draco mounted his broom and gestured for Hermione to climb up after him. When she was positioned safely behind him (with her iPod still working full blast) Madame Hooch blew the whistle and they shot into the air.

With her head buried in the crook of Draco's neck she couldn't see anything, could only smell the rich scent of his cologne. Which she did not inhale, by the way. She only got whiffs of it as they flew because the wind was blowing.

When she felt a lurch in her stomach she couldn't help but look. They were upside down and a bludger whizzed by their heads. She took a deep breath and felt herself relaxing. _This spell really does work. _She took another deep breath, _and where does he get his cologne? _

The next stomach churning movement sent her pressing tighter against Draco. _Maybe he gets it custom made. _ Pansy streaked by them, a look of utmost determination on her face. Hermione couldn't help but look out, wanting to see the team in action. A blast of pride exploded inside her as she watching Lavender pass to Terry, who dropped the Quaffle to Seamus, who in turn streaked up the pitch. He didn't score, but it was nevertheless an amazing moment for her to watch them. They would not have looked so good if they were against a House team, but they were far better then she'd expected. (Blaise's team wasn't completely horrible either and could hold their own). Of course, the other team got the Quaffle and she watched Ernie make a good safe. He looked rather smug as he threw it back to Terry.

A quick glance at the scoreboard showed that it was 50-40 in their favor. She didn't know how long they'd been flying for, but it felt like almost half an hour. Draco was scouring the pitch for the snitch and so far hadn't had any luck. Privately Hermione felt that Mandy Brocklehurst didn't really have a chance because she wasn't trained as a seeker, but kept it to herself.

There was a roar from the surprisingly large crowd and another with another bubble of pride she saw that Lavender had scored. And then Draco tensed up. She quickly returned her head to his neck, breathing deeply. The slant downwards wasn't so bad and as she heard the shouts of people watching mingled with cheers(it seemed no one cared about the house rivalries because they were all mixed together so they just chose a team to cheer on) she felt the tiniest prick of adrenaline.

But then they didn't stop shooting downwards and fear mounted to panic. What if he'd lost control? How high had they been, anyway? She willed herself not to think about the various scenarios running through her head and most of all not to look. But she did anyway and removed her head from Draco's neck. The spell broke.

It was like a dam holding back her emotions had caved in. She let out a blood curdling scream that echoed in the pitch. Resisting the urge to vomit she pushed her head back into Draco's robes. People were cheering, though she couldn't imagine why.

The next thing she knew they were on the ground and the team came over to join them, all complimenting each other on how they'd played. For some reason she couldn't feel her hands or her feet and desperation filled her to the point where she began to cry, not quite knowing why she was doing it. Draco turned to look at her with the snitch clutched in his hand, the broad grin gracing his face disappeared when he saw her.

"Broke," she said and felt her legs give out. The last thing she saw before darkness overtook her was Draco's horrified expression.

-

-

"Merlin Granger," Draco mumbled. She latched onto a familiar voice and dragged herself back to the world. She was lying on her back on one of the benches in the change rooms. They were alone. He saw her eyes open and sat back with a sigh.

A cup was pressed to her lips and she drank greedily, it felt like she hadn't had a drink in ages. When the glass was empty she sat up and leaned against the wall. "So we won."

Draco's grin reappeared. "Yeah. Look," it faltered and faded, "Granger I…erm…I have to say that I'm…er…sorry."

"For what?"

"I…er…removed the spell even before we were diving for the snitch. There's this thing about it that you have to have part of your mind concentrating on it. I thought it would limit my chances of actually getting the snitch so I thought that since things were going so well I'd take it off."

She looked at him and then spoke quietly, "why didn't you tell me?"

He angled his body towards her as he spoke from his position beside her. 'I didn't think you would want to use it if you knew there was a fault."

"I could have cast it."

"It wouldn't have been effective."

"I suppose…" She murmured, "did I hit my head?"

"Wha- oh yeah. You fell and banged it on my broom, it was hovering beside you." He chuckled, "you have a bruise forming right…" he put one leg in front of her two and leaned over her while his body turned slightly. He bent his head closer to hers so he could examine her forehead, "there."

Her breath caught in her throat she watched his eyes as they froze on the top of her head. They heard the sound of footsteps and the opening of a door, which sent them both five feet in the air. Draco stumbled and instinctively Hermione reached out a hand to steady him. It landed on his chest and once again they both froze. Their eyes met and he scanned her face. She almost thought his grey eyes lingered on her lips but before she actually processed that thought a throat was cleared behind them.

"Sorry to interrupt your…thing but McGonagall told me to remind Gra-Hermione that she wants to see her." Blaise said and watched the two spring apart. Draco's legs got entangled with Hermione's and he went crashing to the floor.

"Not exactly in the most stable mood, are you?" Blaise laughed as Draco stood up, scowling at him. "Uh…Hermione?"

She focused on him, her face burning. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Oh yeah I'm great. Thanks. You guys played really well today, by the way." She said and smiled. She's completely forgotten about meeting the Head of House. Was she in some sort of trouble? What if they'd noticed her lack of improvement with Draco? Were they giving up on her?

"Thanks." Blaise said and opened his mouth again but Draco cut in.

"Go waste someone else's time, Blaise."

"Fine, but if you decide to get it on in here remember to tell McGonagall I told you to meet her so she doesn't snap at me." With another wink at Hermione, whose face had turned such a dark color that she looked like she'd eaten something really spicy.

He strode past her and she felt herself relax almost instantly. "Malfoy did the book say anything about lingering effects after you took the spell off?"

"No, it said there were none."

"Oh." A bizarre thought occurred to her. It was impossible, really. But maybe… "When exactly did you remove the spell?"

"Er… a minute or so before Brown scored. Why?"

She blinked. "No reason." But her mind was moving rapidly. She hadn't calmed down because of the spell up there. Her fear had been conquered by something else. Draco opened the door and the wind brought his cologne into her face. _It was Malfoy's cologne_. She didn't know if it was the exotic smell of the fact that it was something associated with Draco. She suspected the former.

"Granger?"

She stood up and followed him to the door. "That cologne you're wearing, is it new?"

He looked surprised, "it is. Why?"

"It's the only thing I've been smelling for the past hour."

He didn't know what to say so responded with, "sod off, Granger."

-

-

"Please take a seat, Miss Granger." Professor McGonagall gestured to the seat across from her desk. "Now, the ministry has been alerted to the assignment the sixth years are undergoing and have decided they had better," her nostrils flared, "look into how we're running it. They've sent a list of potions we can't use so we have been set back in our plan with Mr. Malfoy. They have also arranged for a representative to study how the assignment is going, the changes in the students and whether or not there are safety issues.

"I have arranged for you and Mr Malfoy to meet the representative outside the Three Broomsticks at 3:00. I expect you two to be polite and show Hogwarts off. You are to give him a guided tour," she handed Hermione a piece of paper, "to the places he should know, you don't have to show him all the nooks and crannies because I doubt you will find them. I have marked his lodgings on the paper. I trust you and Mr Malfoy will behave in a satisfactory manner."

"Thank-you." She murmured. The Professor went back to marking an essay and she took that as a dismissal. "Erm…Professor? I was wondering…about the pictures…"

"They have a sticking charm on them, but they were done sloppily so we can't get them off without removing something we want left on the wall. Eventually they'll fall off." Her voice was sharp.

"I'm sorry, Professor." She whispered as she turned back to the door.

"Don't blame yourself for things out of control. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, its that." She bent down and scribbled something on the essay. "This young man seems to be channeling your spirit, his papers could have been written by you." She marked a big 'O' on the parchment.

With a gratified smile she left the room and explained their situation to Draco. His response was a groan, "is it just me or is everything happening to us?"

"It is." She replied gloomily, "let's go for lunch." He glanced at her and saw her wince.

When they sat down Hermione turned to Lavender. "About those herbs… where did you get them from?"

"Witch Weekly." The other girl answered and set off about which ones they were and the adds there were from the magazine. Draco, who had been exposed to Narcissa's incessant chatter knew what they were for and mouthed 'feminine problems' to Blaise who smiled sympathetically.

"Er no thanks, Lavender, I think I'll just stop at the Hospital Wing for a bit." And so they set off there at the end of lunch. Unfortunately it appeared that the Hospital Wing was out of potions for Hermione's problem so she came back out looking glum.

Ginny stopped her on the way to her room and they talked briefly. When Ginny caught sight of Harry, however, she made a quick exit.

"Okay, I just wish I could die now and not have this prolonged death full of pain," she called after the disappearing red head. Obviously one girl took it seriously and looked back, horrified.

Back at the common room Hermione curled up on the couch under a blanket with a hot water bottle and a book. Harry was lounging around on one of the sofas, stretched out, in silence. Blaise and Pansy were sitting in chairs around a desk in the corner, their heads together and Draco was reading in a chair.

The room was filled with silence until there was a timid knock on the door. Harry answered it and a Ravenclaw with strawberry blonde hair, green eyes and freckles dotting her nose walked in. She bit her lip as she looked at them anxiously. There was a camera hanging loosely around her neck. Hermione recognized her as the girl who had looked so horrified as she'd called after Ginny.

"Hermione! Thanks goodness it's not too late!" She cried and launched herself onto the couch Harry had vacated. The Slytherins all turned to her with interest.

"Er…too late for what?" Hermione asked warily, glancing at the girl as she pushed her hair out of her face,

"I have to confess." She gave a nervous laugh, "it was me!" She got up and began pacing, "I took the pictures and I put them on the walls. I recommended you two as the parts for the video and I re-wrote the script!"

"What? Why the hell did you do that?" Draco jumped to his feet.

"I-I- you don't understand!" She wailed. "I thought if everyone realized you're in love with a Slytherin it would be okay if I was too!"

"I'm not in love with him!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I think you are." The girl said and bit her lip, "even if you deny it."

She could think of nothing to say to this, because there was nothing _to_ say to something so far-fetched. "Who are you?"

"My name is Allison, but everyone calls me Allie."

Blaise peered at her, "how old are you?"

She blushed, "I'm only a year younger then you."

Hermione frowned. "Am I to understand you are the reason we were forced to do that awful movie and stuck those pictures up all over the school?"

Allie nodded. "I actually only recommended you, though. Love makes you do funny things, you two should realize that, look at how you pretend to hate each other."

"Who exactly are you in love with?" Pansy asked as both Hermione and Draco opened their mouths angrily.

Allie rolled her eyes, "Blaise of course." Everyone's eyes shot up and Blaise blushed.

"Why exactly did you decide to tell us this?" Hermione asked slowly.

"I heard you in the halls, Hermione. Saying you were going to die and I couldn't not tell you."

Realization dawned on Hermione face, replaced with blush. "I was exaggerating. I'm not dieing of anything I just have bad cramps."

Allie's mouth dropped open and she stood gaping. "Oh." Another minute. "Oh, okay then I'll just get going then."

Draco leapt to his feet and blocked the door. "No. Not until you promise to tell everyone what you did."

She looked into Draco's face and nodded meekly. He moved and she dashed out the door.

"Weird little kid." Blaise said and cleared his throat. They all agreed and went back to whatever they were doing before. But Hermione couldn't get over what Allie had been accusing them of.

-

-

The next day at 11:00 Hermione and Draco were walking to Hogsmeade. Both had bundled up, which was good because it was quite cold outside. They stopped in a parchment store, where Hermione bought a new quill and a notebook. Draco insisted they go into a dreary old shop consisting of strange gadgets that inflicted strange things on people and also forced her into going into an expensive jewelry store, where he bought an early Christmas present for his mother. As he wandered around she gazed in awe at everything, imagining what it would be like to afford something in there and not even feel the loss.

Too soon for Draco's liking it was five minutes to three and they set off to the Three Broomsticks. As they neared the shop Draco caught sight of a man standing with his back to them.

"I think this is our man." Draco muttered and stepped forward and cleared his throat. The man turned around. He had silvery blonde hair pulled into a short ponytail and large, deep blue eyes.

"You are the representatives from Hogwarts?" He asked and Draco heard Hermione gasp from behind him. Sure, he was good looking but not so much as to deserve a gasp.

"Yes."

"I am Mathew LeBlanc." He shook Draco's hand.

"Draco Malfoy. This is my colleague," he stepped a bit to the left and Mathew's eyes widened.

"Hermione?"

"Hello." Hermione said stiffly, "It's nice to see you again, Matt."

**A/N I feel evil as I sit here, laughing like a maniac. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!(And Allie I hope I did you justice.)**

**Reviewers from last chapter, thanks!**

HalfBlood91, dracoisthesexiestmanalive, angelqt1231, AmOrFoReVeR, Emma-Louise 1993, DoubleTake33, Monkeysbrock, yaznations, evildancer93, Anon, AlLiThElLaMaLuVeR, blulioness, Bellatrix-Wannabe, Zarroc, q8iya, aaand Silidons.

**Review review review!**


	20. Reacquaintance

**A/N Hello everyone, another chapter. The twentieth, to be exact. How scary is that? Twenty! I honestly cannot believe I have written twenty, pretty lengthily for the most part, chapters. Anyway, I assume you want to read about Matt so I'm going to start writing.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own it. **

Draco took one look at Hermione's white face and looked at Mathew, who was dumbstruck. So this was him. Why hadn't Hermione mentioned he was a wizard? And why had he been in a muggle infested neighborhood?

"I didn't know you were a witch." Matt said in a forced voice.

"Nor did I know you were at all associated with the magical world." She replied, no trace of any warmth in her voice.

"Are you two acquainted somehow?" Draco asked, pretending he knew nothing.

"We were once friends," Matt said, "obviously it did not go very deep."

"Oh, I see. Do you want a drink?" He asked politely, there was no chance in hell he would ever like this man. Matt nodded and turned to go in. As his silvery hair rippled Draco was hit with something like déjà vu.

They sat in a secluded corner, thought not secluded enough to hide the frequent glances females were giving Matt.

"What will it be?" Madame Rosmerta asked, going a bit pink as she looked at Matt.

"One butterbeer."

"Make that two." Draco said smoothly, turning to Matt.

"I will have…mmm. Redcurrent rum." He said and Draco watched him flash his white teeth at the barmaid.

"So you are how old?" Draco asked as Rosmerta hurried away.

Mathew looked hesitant. "I will be twenty-three this year."

"I see. How long have you had your position at the ministry?"

"Just over three years." He replied, his voice was light and feathery.

"Mm. What exactly do you do?" Draco asked, oblivious to Hermione's intense glares.

"I specialize in the supervision over the management and execution of events held by sources outside the Ministry."

"So you must have had an extensive knowledge of the Triwizard Tournament, then, since your office is in that Department."

Mathew smiled, "you give me too much credit, I am afraid. I was relatively new to the Department, my knowledge was not too extensive. Of course, I did have a higher understanding of what was going on then a large majority of the Ministry's workers."

"If you knew of the tournament and read the Daily Prophet there is simply no way you could have missed the rubbish Rita Skeeter was writing about Granger and Potter and would've realized she was part of our world." Draco said this all very fast, but Hermione felt as though the last four words were spoken in slow motion. Warmth spread through her chest. _Part of our world. _

"I am afraid, Mr Malfoy, that I have little tolerance for newspapers, especially with ones with articles written by people like Rita Skeeter. I am much more inclined to listen to my contacts as they are a much more reliable source and satiate my hunger for knowledge in a most beneficial way."

"If none of your 'colleagues' approached the subject of the so called love triangles, as trivial as they may seem, do you not wonder if they withhold other information from you?"

"No, because they understand that I do not enjoy delving into the person lives of immature teenagers that I have no idea what is going on in the real world."

"And yet you would engage in a shallow romance with one and push limits better left alone with someone you know nothing about," Draco said with his eyebrow raised. Hermione let out a squeak of indignation that was drowned in Matt's next words.

"Mr Malfoy-"

"Please, call me Draco."

"Then I _insist_ you call me Mathew," they sat tensely, eyes locked.

"Two butterbeers," his drink slid into view, "and one redcurrent rum." They thanked Madame Rosmerta and settled back in silence.

"So, Draco, I haven't seen Lucius around lately. How is he?" Mathew took a sip of an amber liquid in his glass, a faint smirk outlined on his face.

"Surely your 'sources' have informed you that my Father is in Azkaban." He said through gritted teeth, sure that the infuriating man in front of him had just wanted the pleasure of hearing him saying it.

"What a shame. Under what charges?"

Draco forced a bitter smile onto his face, "I daresay you need to get a new spy. Oh, my mistake. I mean informant. One so esteemed as yourself certainly wouldn't use a spy."

He smirked as angry red splotches appeared on Mathew's face. A voice in the back of his head warned him not to push this man.

"I assure you, Draco, that my intentions are perfectly innocent. I would never employ someone who I consider is carrying out criminal activity."

Draco merely held his smirk in place. Their entire conversation had been polite border argumentative. It seemed that the more they spoke the more insulting their words became, though the only thing implying this was the tone in which they were spoken and the expressions revealed on their face. Hermione couldn't help but be impressed by Draco's backhand way of making his compliments sound not at all friendly. It was obvious Draco had been raised in a higher-ended society.

Mathew shifted his attention to her and cleared his throat. "So how have you been?"

She was still surprised by encountering him in the magical world that even hearing his voice address her made her jump. If he had been expecting easier (and more pleasant) conversation with Hermione, he was sorely wrong. "I've been magnificent. There hasn't been any reason for me not to be, I don't suppose. Do you?" She smiled sweetly at him, trying to imitate Draco's speech strategy. It seemed to be effective because Mathew's smile faltered.

"Well no, I'd hoped you would stay well after we parted." He looked unsure of what was safe to bring up.

She nodded, "I met with a few friend and got ready for school. I decided after that I wasn't big on life threatening situations."

Mathew's smile died completely and he shifted uncomfortably. "About that-"

"Oh don't be sorry. I didn't actually die. Having a Great White shark maul me is no big deal." She said this all very sweetly, and was pleased to see Mathew wasn't enjoying it one bit. _Serves him right, the pinhead._

"Yeah," he said stupidly. It appeared that he was trying to decide whether he could talk to Hermione or Draco. He took a long drink.

Several minutes later he began again with an anxious voice, "I was informed that you two would show me to my room when go to Hogwarts."

"Correct," Draco replied, "there's only a little distance between our residents, for your convenience."

Mathew smiled in a forced way, "lovely."

"I knew you'd feel the same way I did." Draco said, smirking again. They then felt the consequence of their conversation and fell silent for several minutes.

Mathew finished his drink and looked at them uneasily. Draco took a last swig of his butterbeer and set it down. "I'm finished, Granger?"

"Done." She said easily and began to stand as she fished coins from her purse.

"I'll get it." Mathew said, pulling out an expensive looking Wizard's wallet.

"No, I can get it," Draco countered and pulled out his own, which made Mathew's look like a cheap fake.

"Please, allow me."

"I said I would take it."

"I insist, I'll get it."

"Oh for god's sake, I'll get it!" Hermione rolled her eyes, threw coins on the table and led them out the door and up to the castle.

"Don't you have any luggage?" Draco eyes Mathew.

"I had it sent to the school."

"Hmmph." Draco said in a grumpy tone, crossing his arms.

They showed Mathew to his room, only about 35 meters from theirs, and he thanked them before quickly closing the door.

"Thank god." Hermione sighed.

"Granger did you even realize that this guy has veela blood in him?" Draco demanded. He took her answer out of her expression.

"But I-I would have realized- after meeting Fleur I should have known!" She knew that he was right, however, and couldn't help but feel ashamed she'd missed this. Not to mention angry, confused and frustrated.

"When you were around him, how did you describe how you felt?"

She thought back, struggling to find the right words. "Well…like I was unworthy, and, er, kind of…"

They arrived at the common room and Draco pulled open the door. They walked into the empty room and took seats on the couches.

"Kind of distant from other people, like no one else mattered." She continued, "I felt an intense want borderline need to be around him all the time."

Draco nodded as his thoughts were confirmed. "He was spelling you."

She was baffled. The idea that any magical person could have gotten their magical heritage past her when they spent the whole summer together was hard to believe. This was…But if she had been spelled, it would explain why she hadn't made any kind of connections.

"Don't dwell on it, Granger. Better witches and wizards have had this happen to them and they never realized it. Once a veela wants you, they've got you before you have time to think about it. Their magic is stronger if you don't realize what they are before you've been affected."

"But shouldn't I have realized after?" She asked, only slightly comforted by his words.

"Not if he didn't want you to. He didn't know you had ever heard of veelas, so he would have just wanted to see your relationship a certain way and you wouldn't have dwelled on him. Unless someone points it out to you, you wouldn't have had a clue."

She absorbed this quickly. Images of Harry standing on the edge of the Top Box at the Quidditch World Cup flashed into her mind, followed by Ron in the appropriate position to dive off a springboard. She been so exasperated with them then, and she thought with shame of how she'd been so affected she put herself into life-threatening situations for him.

"I have a question, Malfoy." She said suddenly.

"Haven't you invaded my privacy enough?" He asked irritably. She didn't answer and he rolled his eyes, "fine."

"Can-Do-Can Slytherins have friends?" It seemed a whole lot more stupid when she said it out loud.

"We're not a different species, Granger. Yes we have friends." His condescending tone made her blush.

"Well I just thought-you don't act like you do." He opened his mouth and she hurried on, "I just mean I can't picture you having a- a sleepover or talking about just _stuff_. You seem like the type determined to 'go it alone.'"

He draped himself causally over the couch, propping on elbow onto his knee. "I do. Blaise is my friend, Vincent and Greg aren't so bad but the conversation is horrible, Millicent is a bit aggressive. I'm well acquainted with people from other years, and then Pansy-"

"Yes?" She prompted.

"We have a complicated relationship. Anyway, I am going to my room. Don't disturb me." He breezed by her and she couldn't stop herself from inhaling. Unfortunately it was a bit louder then she'd hoped and Draco stopped, turning to look at her. "What was that?"

"What?" She cleared her throat nervously, "what do you mean?"

"You just gasped or something."

"I-" She shifted, "I was smelling your cologne." A blush spread across her face and she looked at the ground.

"You were…smelling my cologne?" He asked in a strange voice, then quicker, "do you like it?"

When she later reflected on this, she was sure that the only reason she did what she did because her emotions were so out of sorts she didn't know how to respond. She looked up and locked eyes with him, "very much."

A slight smile crossed his face, "I'll wear it more often, then."

She sat there, dumbstruck, as Draco turned away and entered his room. There was a knock on the door and as she went to get it, Draco had taken the crystal bottle from his dresser and went to his closet. He sprayed all his robes with the cologne it held. As Hermione answered the door with a smile on her face Draco looked down at the bottle, grinning for reasons unknown to him. Then Hermione's eyes fell upon-Seamus.

"Hi," she said, her smile fading slightly. She had completely forgotten about him. As he kissed her swiftly on the cheek a small flock of butterflies flew inside her stomach. He smiled a bit awkwardly at her and she led him to the couch. It was when he didn't sit down but kept standing she realized something was wrong. "Are you okay?"

"I think we should break up." _So this is what its like to jump into a frozen lake._ He hurried on, "it's just hard to be with you right now."

"I see." She felt like someone was compressing her chest.

"I mean everything is complicated. Something funny is going on with the pictures, and that video? Not to mention the last time we were together alone was before this stupid assignment. Add Quidditch in there and we may as well be in different schools. I don't like fighting with you, either."

"We could make more time." She wasn't begging him to re-consider, their relationship would have been awkward. Well, more then it was now. She was reminding him that if they'd both put more effort into it, it could have worked out.

"I know, but these potions make us do funny things and I know there have only been two but I don't know the extent of things I can watch you do with someone else without losing it. I think it's better this way." He searched her face for signs of tears, sadness, desperation, anything signifying this wasn't going well.

"Well then I guess it's over." She smiled in a strained way, "I'm glad we'll still be friends."

Seamus nodded and after a few small words left. Only then did she sit down and allow her thoughts to explode inside her head. So it was over. There was no more Seamus and Hermione. He wouldn't kiss her, hold her hand, give her his radiant smile, whisper in her ear. Nothing. She hadn't loved him, that was for sure. Love was more powerful. But she'd really, really, really liked him. And he had liked her. But not anymore, and that hurt. Knowing that someone felt the same way you felt about them made you feel good all the time, even when you were unhappy. Now…

A hot tear trickled down her cheek and she brushed it away angrily. This was silly. But why was it so hard? Another tear followed until her vision was blurry. She gave up trying to hold them back, succumbing to the sadness that engulfed her.

What was that noise? The door. Who chose this time to knock on the door? She didn't move, no one was going to see her like this. Maybe they would think she was still in Hogsmeade. There was more knocking. And more. And more.

"Granger why won't you get the do-" Draco burst into the common room. One look at her face ended his sentence. "Oh."

She turned her head away. No need for him to see her crying over a guy.

"Granger?"

"Yes?" She replied, glad her voice was strong.

"Are you…" he came closer and reached out, tilting her head up to look at her, "crying?"

"No." She said stubbornly and bit her lip as the tears the simple contact had induced welled up.

"Finnegan." Draco growled, straightening up. "It's over, then?"

"No," Hermione protested, "why would I cry over something so trivial as a boy." She barely get out the last word because her voice cracked and a fresh round of sobs tore through her.

The person banged more loudly outside the door and a flash of annoyance crossed Draco's otherwise guarded face. "What?"

"I want to talk to Hermione!" Ginny's voice floated through.

"She's busy!"

"Doing what?" Her voice was annoyed and for good measure she banged the door again.

"Talking to me!" He shouted back.

There was a silence. "Then I'm here to save her. Open up!"

"No thanks, I don't think I will." Draco said mockingly.

"Hermione can you please open the door?"

Draco turned to Hermione with a raised eyebrow that clearly said, 'do you want to talk to her or me?'

Ordinarily this wouldn't have been a question. But Draco had already seen she was crying. If she got Ginny, then Ginny and Draco would know. If she talked to Draco, the other girl would never know. "Not now, Gin." Hermione said, a slight tremble in her voice.

There was a pregnant pause in which Hermione was afraid her friend knew what was going on, and then- "I'll talk to you at the feast, then. It's important though, about tonight."

"Okay." They heard faint footsteps. They both looked at each other, waiting for the other to speak.

"I should've let her in, don't girls usually have girl talks about this stuff?" Draco asked in attempt to lighten the mood. What happened next could hardly be called normal behavior, but Hermione was going on the 'emotions out of sorts' theory.

"Kiss me." She said, not meeting his gaze.

"What?" Draco exclaimed.

"I said kiss me." She whispered.

"Granger what the hell?"

"I'll close my eyes. Then it won't feel like you. If you close your eyes it won't feel like me." She closed them, waiting. She heard footsteps and the slight parting of the air as Draco knelt in front of her. "It will make me feel better."

His lips were so close to her own that had she moved even a millimeter they would have touched. She knew this because she felt his presence, his body heat and could smell his mint-like breath. When he spoke, his voice shook with controlled anger and he said every syllable clearly. "I am not here to be used."

The next noise she heard was a door slam and as though waking up she snapped her eyes open. _Did I just ask Malfoy to kiss me? _She squeeze her eyes shut and didn't open them even when she heard the common room door minutes later.

"Hermione?" Only Blaise's voice saying her name made them open in surprise.

"Hi."

Blaise's eyes were sparkling and he looked really happy, not suppressing a smile as he spoke. "Are you okay?

"Yes of course. Why?"

"You look like you've been crying." Pansy said, Harry had been pretending not to notice as he did with both her and Ron.

"Me? Nope. I spilled some…water on myself. Hehe, so clumsy. I'm going up to my room now, see you guys later!"

As she collapsed on her bed she couldn't help but shudder, both from her mind going insane with thoughts of having Draco's lips on hers, and the thrilled anticipation that had run through her as she'd felt him come closer.

* * *

"_I'll close my eyes. Then it won't feel like you. If you close your eyes it won't feel like me." _What was wrong with her? Hell what was wrong with kissing him? '_It won't feel like you' _Why did that bother him so much? Why did he care that she didn't want to kiss him? Was it because he had wanted to kiss her? Was that why he had tingled with excitement when she'd said those two words? '_Kiss me_.' So quickly quenched when she'd continued. '_It won't feel like you' _

Why was she so confusing? Seeing her crying over Seamus had made him both angry and happy. Angry because obviously she cared about that idiot enough to be upset when he broke up with her. Happy? He really didn't know. '…_it won't feel like me'. What if I wanted to know it was you? What if I wanted it to feel like you? _Draco shook his head, what was going on?

He threw himself onto his bed. With a noise half growl half sigh he pulled out a pointy object from under his back. It was the crystal cologne bottle. His face was reflected so many ways from the shape of the bottle and he saw his grey orbs staring hundreds of times at him. '_It won't feel like you'. _Without a second thought he threw it with all his might at the wall, where it shattered into expensive pieces and the cologne dripped down the wall.

* * *

Ginny did, indeed, corner her at the Halloween feast that night. She made no mention of the events earlier that day, she only told her that Hermione was hosting a slumber party with a whole bunch of the girls from her year. Ginny had arranged everything, Dumbledore would be taking the spell off the girls with partners because 'this was an excellent opportunity for inter-house co-operation.' The girls had all picked up treats from Hogsmeade and were excited.

"How?" Hermione exclaimed as a piece of chicken fell from her gaping mouth. Draco snorted bitterly, the only noise he had made all night, but Hermione was too distracted to notice.

"I just talked to everyone." Ginny said innocently.

"Who is everyone?" Hermione asked warily.

"Just a few girls. Parvati, Lavender, Padma, Hannah, Susan, Mandy, Lisa, Melissa, Shelby, Luna but she's only staying to get her nails done, and I invited Sally-Anne but she's studying. And myself. Like I said, just a few."

There was really nothing she could say, Ginny had her heart set on this. And by the looks of all the excited sixth year girls, they did too. "Okay."

That was how she found herself greeting girls as they poured into the common room. They were dressed in their own styles from one of Ron's old shirts and a pair of shorts (Ginny had nicked the shirt from Ron over the summer) to a blue nightie with lacy trim (Susan) to a bright yellow pajama set (Luna). They were all carrying bags, smiling and expressing their delight.

Hermione had warned Pansy about the little party (and invited her) but Pansy insisted that she would stay well out of sight, because she did not want to hang out with the other girls. Blaise and Draco were by a desk in the corner talking and Harry was in his room.

They dropped their bags, pillows and blankets on the ground and spread out everywhere--quite literally. They were on the couches, chairs, propped on the coffee table, the floor and even the window. Then they looked at Hermione.

"Erm…hi. The rooms are labeled. The bathroom," she pointed, "and my room," she pointed again, "are the only ones really important. Those are Malfoy's, Pansy's, Harry's and Blaise's."

There were exclamations of how Hermione had stairs, how nice the room was, how pretty the color was, questions about where they were sleeping and why Hermione's room looked so special.

"I figured we could sleep down here but for the time being just stay in my room." She shrugged.

"Are you going to change soon?" Susan asked, "your robes are dragging the mood and we're all already changed."

"Yeah, I'll go now." Hermione said, sighing, as the rest grinned.

"To her bedroom!" Mandy cried and the girls bolted to the stairs as though she had cried 'charge.'

Blaise and Draco snickered, though Draco only did it half-heartedly and resumed his brooding after a few short 'he-he's'. She glared and marched up to her over-crowded room. The girls had once again spread out and somehow seemed to have every inch of the room covered. One pair of pajama pants and a halter top later and Hermione asked if they wanted to stay upstairs or go downstairs.

"I would love to go downstairs, have you noticed how delicious Blaise is?" Hannah fanned herself with her hand and giggled. There was a chorus of sighs.

"You are so lucky, Hermione, you live with Blaise, Draco and Harry! Does it get any better?" Parvati sighed.

"But they're Slytherins…"Hermione said slowly.

"Slytherins or not, they're still hot!" Shelby said, "if you don't want 'em I'll take them both!"

"Hey! No fair, your House gets Gavin Lembargo, who do we get?" Susan protested in a fake angry tone.

"We don't really _get _him." Lisa sighed, "we can only watch him."

"Why?" Melissa asked.

"Oh, don't you know? I thought it was all over the school." Luna said, "he isn't into our type."

"Our type?" Hermione looked around, the only one who looked confused.

"He's gay." Ginny said and a collective sigh followed.

"Anyway, I brought nail polish." Lavender spoke up suddenly, trading excited looks with Shelby. "It's new, naturally coated to last for weeks, and shimmers without light!"

"Ooh can we see it?" Padma breathed.

"I got a whole bunch for my birthday, so I figure we could all have manicures and pedicures to match, except with our own colors."

"We looked up a spell on _Witch Weekly_ and have been practicing with regular polish all day so we have it perfect. All you do is pick a color, put on the magic skin mask, cucumbers and the magic happens!" Shelby continued. It seemed that she and Lavender had become quite close while they were partners.

"Where are they?" Melissa asked, her eyes bright with excitement.

"In my bag, let's go!" Lavender stood up and they followed her downstairs, where their bags were piled. As Lavender dug through hers the rest retrieved bags upon bags of candy. It was enough to feed the whole Gryffindor House, which was saying something. Back up in Hermione's room they moved around furniture and arranged themselves in a circle on the plush pink carpet, throwing the candy in the middle.

Lavender laid down the colors and Shelby showed them the ad in _Witch Weekly_ that sold them. When she was finished there were about 2 ½ dozen colors to pick from.

"Okay ladies, take your pick."

Hermione intended on waiting for the others to pick their colors before getting her own but instead Susan pushed a bottle in her hand, saying she'd look amazing with it on and then dove back into the pile.

She didn't even have a chance to see her color before Lavender went around the circle, conjuring the face masks and setting the manicure and pedicure spells in place. It was actually quite relaxing and she kept her eyes closed, allowing the magic to have its way and not worry about whether she was going to see her nails a neon pink.

"How long does it take?" Ginny asked.

"It said between five to ten minutes and that we should wash the masks off when our nails are done. They dry instantly, and I can't feel anything so I think they're done."

"Lav, do you remember the spell to get the mask off? I don't." Shelby said.

There was a pause. "I thought you knew what it was so I didn't even look."

"Oh. Did you bring the magazine?"

Lavender sighed, "no."

"Do you mean we're going to be stuck with this goop on our faces forever?" Padma asked, a frantic tone in her voice.

"No," Shelby assured them.

"It comes off with water, just not any other magic spells but the one designed for it. Apparently there were bad side affects." Lavender said.

"Oh, good." Susan said, "because this shade of brown is not my color."

"Oh **my** _god_!" Lisa exclaimed suddenly, "Blaise and Draco are down there!" Horrified squeals followed this. "They can't see us like this!"

"Why don't we walk backwards?" Luna suggested.

"That would work." Hermione nodded, she really didn't want Draco and Blaise to see her with the goo on her face, they would never shut up about it.

"But what if they ask why we're walking backwards?"

"To avoid Farluffels," Luna replied, "they have no reason to ask otherwise."

Giggles followed this statement. By then they were all on their feet with their cucumbers in a heap. "We should go now, our nails are already dry."

"Hermione you lead, you know this place the most." Parvati instructed.

They gathered around the door and lined up behind Hermione, who poked her head out the door and saw Blaise and Draco talking. Draco was scowling and appeared to be saying something like 'fuck off' to Blaise.

This was going to be an entertaining night.

**A/N It feels like forever for me since I last wrote an author's note. Be warned, the next chapter contains all my musings and weird thoughts at about eleven at night. There is no real point except for a few subtle hints in it about anything to do with the plot, it's just the sleepover. Yeah. And I'm not done it yet. XD I've been quite busy, but I could come up with a million excuses not to do it. All I can say is high school is awesome, but my teachers like giving me homework and projects and labs and tests. But I love it anyway.**

**Matt was not lying. He really didn't know Hermione was a witch for the same reason he said. That information is IMPORTANT! (The Draco/Matt interaction is important, as is Matt's place in the school).**

**When I had Hermione repeat in her head, 'part of our world' am I the only one who had the Little Mermaid explode inside my head?**

**Hmm…Anything else? I don't think so… I just answered this question in an someone else's author's note, actually, and I'm interested. What is your favorite song(s)?**

**Review review review!**


	21. Betrayal

**Author's Note: Well here is the sleepover. The almost completely pointless chapter that I wrote for my own enjoyment. By the way, it shows a more wild side of the females in the trio's year. **

**Updated Author's Note: Ok, this chapter is so so so not pointless. I had writer's block at the end and I didn't know how to write it and then I had pictures of what happened and -poof- it had a reason. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Oh, and for the record, nor do I own Mathew LeBlanc from Friends. . The Mathew LeBlanc here is totally different.**

"Ready?" Hermione looked back at the girls lined up behind her, "be careful on the stairs."

She backed out of the room, grinning at how stupid they must look. She waited at the bottom of the stairs, which was lucky because Mandy nearly fell. They continued their trek and she signaled to them that they were near the bathroom. With satisfaction she watched them all disappear through the door. Then she snorted at the strangeness of her satisfaction.

"Granger, what are you doing?"

"Hmm?" She turned around, "we're, erm, warding off farluffels." Blaise let out a bark of laughter and Draco's eyes widened as a smirk spread across his face.

"What?" She demanded, and they seemed to find that thoroughly annoying. She raised a hand to rub her temple and was met by a thick, hardening paste. "Oh."

With a furious(due to her intense embarrassment) glare she strode into the bathroom and waited for Luna to finish washing up. Then she washed her face off and walked back into the common room. The girls were congregating by the couch, whispering and giggling at the two males in the corner.

"Granger, you got the stuff off your face." Draco called and smirked as a few excited titters could be heard.

"Yes, Malfoy, I did." She replied, "I'm so glad you've noticed I don't usually walk around with goop on my face."

"Well the alternative isn't much better," he said, ignoring his thoughts from earlier that evening.

"I'd feel more sorry for yourself. You spend ample amounts of time in front of the mirror and you still look like a drowned ferret." She smiled sweetly at him and the girls burst into raucous giggles and pulled her backwards up the stairs.

"That was brilliant!" Padma exclaimed, "did you see his face?"

Before she could open her mouth, Parvati started up, "he obviously was not expecting that! He doesn't wear make-up though, does he?"

"Obviously not," Ginny said, "because he doesn't look like a drowned ferret. If they do look like that, I want one!"

"Ginny!" She admonished.

"Oh please," Ginny rolled her eyes, "it's not like I like him. I merely notice his attractive features. Surely you've noticed too? Can you honestly say you think he's ugly?"

"Malfoy is so not attractive." Hermione said stubbornly.

There was a pause. "Denial."

She glowered around at them all, "I'm not in denial. Hey, where's Luna?"

"She left."

"Why?"

Ginny shrugged, "I practically forced her to come in the first place. She said she was leaving because she had promised her dad to keep an eye out for some crazy thing and she had to leave."

"Oh."

"We should have a confessional." Padma exclaimed suddenly.

"Ooh definitely." Lisa agreed.

"A confessional?"

"We go around the circle and everyone has to confess something. Padma and I used to do these all the time!" Parvati looked around excitedly, "who wants to go first?"

"I will." Hannah said, raising her hand. She'd chosen a bold red, "my confession is…I had a crush on Professor Snape last year."

"No!" Half of their number gasped and the rest stared, open mouthed.

"Yes! I mean he's so dark, evil and all…but I thought it was sexy." Hannah grinned, "have you listened to his voice, so silky… Imagine what it's like in bed!"

"Hannah you _devil_!" "I thought you liked him _last_ year!" "Professor _Snape_?" "Imagine how he _is_ in bed!"

When they quieted down Hannah continued on with a gleam in her eye, "tell me honestly you've never imagined doing the dirty with Snape while he says sexy things in your ear."

Several shrieks later and they decided Hannah had said quite enough. The now completely excited girls were practically quivering with their pent up energy.

Susan smiled and flipped back her hair, "me now?" She adjusted her position, playing with the lace on her nightie. "My confession is… I have a huge crush on Troy Ferreira."

There were several blank faces and even more giggles, "seriously?"

"He's really nice!" Susan said, blushing.

"Who is he?" Mandy asked, looking around.

"I'm sure you've seen a really tall guy with blonde hair and pale skin? Square glasses, hardly talks, his friends are, strange enough, a group of really loud guys?" Hannah said, "that's him."

"That's Troy? I haven't known who he is in forever!" Lisa exclaimed, "he's in your year, right Ginny?"

"Yeah he sits beside me in Transfiguration. He's really smart and always helps me with my work." She said, grinning.

"I bet he spends all his time reading _books_." Scoffed Melissa, as though there was something wrong with reading books as opposed to other materials.

"What's wrong with that?" Hermione asked loudly. In answer she received several pats on the back and a few rounds of giggles.

"Me next," Mandy said, shaking back her wavy black hair. As she spoke she wiggled her fingers, making her sparkly purple nails shimmer. "My confession shall be…hmm…something _scandalous_…I know! I totally shagged Anthony Goldstein behind the Quidditch stands."

"You didn't!"

"I did." Mandy squealed, smirking slyly at them all. They watched her, mouths agape. Finally she laughed and turned away, "okay, go Padma."

Padma's nails were metallic green. "My confession is… you know my partner is Crabbe, right?"

They all expressed their sympathy. "Well he's really not that bad. I mean," after catching their incredulous faces she hurried on, "he's not brilliant but he's not nearly as stupid as everyone seems to think. It only seems like it because Draco always overshadows him. He hates that, you know. Once you get him talking you'd be surprised about how much he knows and sees and everything."

A shocked silence greeted her words. "Wow." "_Crabbe_?" "Seriously?"

"Yeah. But I don't, like, have a crush on him, though. I just like him as a friend."

"Wow." "_Crabbe_?" "Seriously?"

"Yeah. And then there are the times I absolutely hate him."

They all laughed and Padma turned expectantly to Parvati. Her nails were rainbow, every second they would flash a different color. This created a slightly blinding affect. "I have a huge crush on," she looked around, "Terry Boot."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've been leaving, like, subtle hints and all that to see if he's interested." She went silent and there was a pause.

"Well _is_ he?" Half of them shouted.

"I can't tell yet, but I hope so." She blushed, smiling.

"You are so cute!" Lavender exclaimed, squealing. "Okay, my confession is…" she tapped her chocolate colored nails on floor as she thought, "Hmm…okay, this is so bad and I really don't know what possessed me but I snogged Professor Anthony!"

Professor Anthony was the young, attractive and very smart Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher prior Candy.

"I had detention with him, remember that time I hexed Dean 'accidentally' because he said I looked like I'd just woken up? I walked in, and was like, 'hey Professor, you know, you're a great teacher.' In this, like, sexy voice. Then I just moved closer and did it!"

"Oh my god!" Laven_der_!" "Did he kiss back?"

Lavender's eyes sparkled, "sort of. He was sort of still and then he was kissing me for about three minutes. After that he broke away and said, 'I think you should go now, Lavender.'"

"I heard he resigned because of something traumatic. Maybe it was you!" Melissa exclaimed suddenly, pointing a finger at her.

"I guess I just made a really big impression on him." She shrugged, grinning evilly. They all giggled, including Hermione even though she thoroughly disapproved.

"Ginny," Lisa said in a sing song voice, "your turn."

Ginny looked around at them all and blushed. "We have an unsaid agreement here to _never _repeat _anything_ said here to _anyone_ else, right?" They all nodded seriously. "Good. Because if I find out anyone has mentioned this, I will bat bogey them." She threatened them all, making eye contact with Lavender and Parvati specifically. "Okay, I…fancy Harry Potter."

The explosion of screams could probably have been heard in the dungeons. All the girls catapulted themselves at Ginny, hugging her tightly and jumping up and down, shrieking how 'They knew it! They just knew it!' 'It was so amazing!' and 'They were so happy she'd caught on!'

Why they reacted so strongly, none of them really knew. It was just natural. Hermione couldn't help but feel giddy in the presence of so many excited females. She never got chances to act like this, and now she was letting it all out.

They settled back down in their former positions. Ginny's face was still flaming, but she had a pleased grin on her face. And then- "This calls for celebration!"

The numerous bags of candy, boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and piles of chocolate were pulled out and spread into the middle of the circle. As Ginny reached out for a licorice wand, Hermione saw her red and gold nails, thinking privately that there was no one better for Harry.

"Me next," Melissa said, chewing on a piece of toffee. She covered her mouth with her hand, painted beautifully with extremely sparkly white nail polish so it looked like falling snow. "Okay," she'd finished swallowing, "my confession is…okay, please don't be mad." She shot a furtive look at Ginny, "but I fancy…" for a second, every girl in the room thought she was going to say 'Harry'. "Dean."

Heads swiveled to Ginny, who shrugged. "You'd be better with him then me."

Then back to Melissa. "Oh good. I mean, I just never realized what he was like before I was partners with him. I guess that happens, you hang around with someone a lot you start liking them unintentionally." Several nods of agreement.

"Now me," Shelby said, giggling softly. "I don't really have anything worthy of yours, but…well… I'm in sort of a-a secret relationship with a seventh year Hufflepuff."

"Is he cheating?" Susan asked, her voice suddenly hard.

"No! No, it's not like that. It's sort of hard to explain, his parents are weird about relationships and they don't get along with my parents and it's just weird." She concluded lamely.

"That's so romantic." Parvati breathed, sighing.

"Yeah, totally." Lisa said, her electric blue eyes sparkling. She had a slightly exaggerated look, with straight brown hair decorated with red streaks and usually added her own embellishments to the school uniform. In addition she wore liberal amounts of make-up but still managed to look good and not overly done up. "I have an arranged marriage."

"Really?" "To who?" "That's horrible!" "Why?"

"His name is Ryan, and he's really great. I really like him. Actually we're going out right now, it's pretty serious. My parents are traditional, right, and are sort of annoyed that I'm so crazy. We're lucky, though, we both like each other. Plus he only graduated two years ago from Hogwarts."

"That is so romantic," Padma said in much the same fashion Parvati had before.

"You think so?"

"Definitely."

Lisa beamed and turned to Hermione, the last one. She felt put on the spot and look down, catching her now emerald green nails in the light. It_ was_ a good color.

"My confession is…" She tried to think of something worthy of what these girls had said. She had a sudden thought, no one would know this about her. One of her muggle friends had convinced her to get her belly button pierced (this was before the Matt incident) and so she had, thinking it was an okay idea and that it would be her wild idea for the summer. Of course she had been wrong, but once the initial shock that she actually had done it was over, she thought she had made a big mistake and took extra care to make sure she didn't get an infection. After the summer was over, she'd taken out the stud from it, but found she liked it better in. At the moment she had in two white diamonds surrounding a pink one in the shape of a heart.

She was on the brink of explaining all this when she saw the bright faces, alight with interest at the smartest-witch-of-their-age-and-most-likely-to-be-Head-Girl, wondering what she could possibly confess. She could almost see those expressions change to disappointment as they realized she wasn't going to really share anything really big with them. Did she have trust issues like Draco?

"Look," she lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing the gem underneath. "I just wanted to get that out of the way. My confession is that today I asked Malfoy to kiss me."

Perhaps it was do to seeing, and taking part in, the reaction to Ginny's confession that she knew what was coming. As soon as she saw the happy expressions change to ones of sadistic glee she began to scramble to her feet. As she moved, high pitched, blood curdling screams exploded in the room. They threw themselves at her faster then she could get out the door and as one big huddle they crashed down her stairs and into the common room.

"Oh my god!" They hugged each other, jumped up and down and did dances of happiness. Several minutes later they came to their senses and laughter reached their ears. Frozen like deer caught in headlights they turned their wide eyes to Blaise and Draco in the corner. The two boys were in almost silent fits of laughter.

"Grow up." Hermione snapped, which made them laugh out loud and clutch their stomachs. Heads swiveled from Hermione to Draco to Hermione to Draco to Hermione to Draco to Hermione to Draco, "stop it will you." She said irritably to the girls, "all that swiveling is giving me a headache." One more swivel and then the screaming starting again, asking for answers and they began dragging her back upstairs.

They pushed her down into their circle and returned to their own spots, turning and watching her expectantly, suddenly still. "Well…I asked him to kiss me. I was…upset, Seamus broke up with me. So I don't know what came over me, I just said it. 'Kiss me.' I think I just wanted to feel, I dunno," she blushed, "like I'm worth kissing or something. So I said it. 'Kiss me.'"

"Did he?" Breathed Hannah as the other watched her, clinging to her every word.

"No. I thought he was going to but-" Her throat was feeling dry, "he was really, really angry. I said we should close our eyes and it wouldn't seem like we were kissing, well, each _other_. I thought he would feel better that way, you know. We could pretend it wasn't the other person. Then he sort of freaked out and said he wasn't there to be used."

"And then?"

"He went to his room and slammed the door. I'm pretty sure he threw something at the wall, a heard a crash from my room."

"What did he say exactly after you said kiss me?"

"He said 'Granger, what the hell?'"

"And then you said?"

"The part about closing our eyes."

"And then he got mad about, said he wasn't there to be used and stormed to his room?" The other girls were looking at Ginny curiously, wondering what she was on about.

"Yeah."

"I see. So he got a whole lot more mad about you saying you would pretend it wasn't him then he did about you asking him to kiss you?"

"Well I guess." She said slowly, and then continued in a rush, "but I didn't give him a chance to say anything else before." She could almost remember the exact amount of body heat coming from him, every controlled syllable as his voice shook in his anger. '_"I am not here to be used."' _

Even as she got halfway through her sentence the other girls exchanged significant looks with the person sitting next to them.

"Do you honestly think I'm stupid enough to not realize what your 'sneaky' glances mean?" She asked grumpily, ruffled by the way they'd taken the events that had occurred.

"I'm beginning to wonder about the limits of your intelligence," Ginny said, "you've missed the undeniable tension between you and Draco."

Hermione gave Ginny a glare that made others cringe away. The red-head only smiled brightly at her.

"Oh please. It's not like I'm saying you're in love with him. I'm merely saying you have a lot of repressed tension that could easily become sexual. Harry and Draco have a lot of tension too."

"Imagine if they were lovers!" Hannah exclaimed, "they would be so hot!"

"_Hannah!_"

"Harry is not gay," Hermione said and they fell into a thoughtful silence, Harry's sexuality no doubt occupying at least one mind. "Does anyone want a soda?"

"A what?"

She explained what soda was and dug out a bunch of cans from her closet that she'd purchased at _Sweets for Sally_. Those who didn't know how to crack open the can watched her and then mimicked her movement. Silence reigned for several minutes.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Announced Lavender, "I'll be back soon." The door closed with a snap and they looked around at each other, grins forming when they found themselves at loss for words.

"Hermione," Melissa said suddenly, "I have a question. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, and I think I already know but I have to ask anyway. Are you waiting until after you're married to have sex?" An incredibly minimal amount of the girls knew the extent of what had gone on during the first potion.

She let out a bitter laugh, "a bit late for that." Eyes widened and gasps filled the air. Realizing what she'd admitted to she hurried on, "it's super complicated. I mean-well-" She decided it was too complicated to explain and wanted to keep the whole story to herself, _and Malfoy _a voice in her head said, so she didn't continue.

"What was his name?" Padma asked quietly, watching her.

"Mathew LeBlanc." She said slowly, knowing she would be getting a lot of strange looks the next day.

"Wow. I thought you of all people would've waited. I mean, I'm not insulting you or anything, I just-"

"It's okay." She said calmly, saving a flustered Susan from trying to explain. They were silent for a bit longer, sipping their drinks, lost in thought.

"Wow, I must be the life of the party." Lavender said as she walked inside, a smirk on her face.

Hannah looked up suddenly and smiled devilishly, "so Lav, what does your sexy voice sound like?"

"Oh," she giggled, "here. Oh professor, teach me more. About _everything_." Her voice was softer and deeper, too. She started laughing halfway through and the rest of the words came out garbled. Quite dramatically, Hermione thought, she threw back her head, jerking her arm and spilling her drink over Ginny.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, trying to hold back her laughter.

"It's okay, I'll just use a small char-"

"No!" Lavender cried suddenly and they stared at her. "I mean, you can't. It's like the nail polish. Magic makes it react badly. You'll have to use the bathroom. Right." She looked at Hermione, widening her eyes slightly.

"Yeah." Hermione agreed, not quite sure why she was lying.

Ginny sighed, "okay. I'll be back soon." She left slowly, rolling her eyes at them as she looked back and found them all watching her. As soon as the door closed, Hermione looked at Lavender and raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see." She smiled mysteriously, but gave no further reply. "Explain more about this Gavin guy. When did he come out?"

"Last year when he came back from Christmas break. He told his best friend first, which might not have been a good idea since he sort of flipped out."

"His best friend? Why?" Hermione murmured.

"I guess he has a problem with his best friend being gay. It was horrible, because they were in the Common Room and he was shouting and I felt awful. Gavin looked really tired and kind of sick when he got back, the whole thing must be really hard to go through, and he was almost crying when Chris yelled a bunch of shit at him. He didn't even say anything in retaliation and let him yell. It must have gone on for ten minutes, people were scared. No one knew if they should do anything. People caught on pretty quickly and Gavin shot Chris this truly heartbreaking look and sort of stumbled out of the Common Room. Chris looked around and then one of Gavin's friends began to follow Gavin and punched Chris so hard he hit the wall. I was up until one in the morning finishing up an essay and he still wasn't in yet. He was pretty torn up for a long time after that, the teachers heard about it and tried to talk to him but he wouldn't." Padma whispered, the air was suddenly silent and tense. "I'm surprised you guys haven't heard about it yet, it was huge."

"Are they friends again?"

"No. Chris completely ignores him now and they can hardly be in the same room together anymore. But Chris hangs with a bunch of jackasses and Gavin has some really good friends now." Mandy said, smiling slightly.

"Does he have a boyfriend?"

"No." Padma said, shaking her head, "there aren't a lot of gay people at Hogwarts, maybe two or three. After the scene Chris made, I doubt anyone would want to come out. Anyway, there isn't much he can do. Imagine being in love with someone you know could never love you back."

As they thought about her words Ginny came back in a different t-shirt, blushing pleasantly.

"I knew it!" Lavender cried. "Tell us everything!"

Confused, they turned to Lavender who realized she was the only one who had any idea what she was talking about.

"When I was downstairs, Harry was waiting for the bathroom to shower. I knew I had to get Ginny down there so I spilled my stuff and pretended it reacted badly to magic. Simple, really."

"Lavender!" Ginny cried indignantly.

"Oh shut up Ginny and spill!" Lavender said. Ginny looked slightly affronted and then smiled, plopping down to join the circle.

"Well I walked into the bathroom and, er, Harry was in there-"

"_Naked_?"

"No! No he had no shirt on and he was unbuckling his pants. I walked in and he swore really loudly and we sort of stood there for awhile. He was blushing and asked what was on my shirt so I told him you spilled soda on me and I could only use the water from the tap. He gave me a funny look, which makes sense _now_," she shot a playfully dirty look at Lavender, "and asked if I wanted to borrow one of his. Now that I think about it I think he sort of blurted it out unintentionally because he looked really embarrassed after that. I said yes and he got one from his bedroom and gave it to me and stood there. So then I asked if he was going to watch me change and he very nearly ran from the room. I put it on, walked out, said thanks and came up here."

"Nothing like, 'I'd rather take it off myself' or 'I can think of another reason you'd be in my shirt?'"

"No." Ginny said firmly, "Harry is not like that."

That conversation concluded with her words and Hermione zoned out as they began matching off the single people in the room with their best suitor. They reached Hermione and there was a long silence.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically. "Am I that hard to like?"

"No, but there's only one name to say and you'd be mad if I said it." Ginny said, smirking.

She and Hermione had a stare down, and then Hermione sighed. "Ugh, fine just say it."

"Draco!" They all chorused.

"Why do you always pair me with him?" She groaned.

"There really is no other person. If he wasn't evil and prejudiced and all you'd be perfect."

"He can almost match your intellect-"

"-which no one else can-"

"-he is just bad enough to keep you happy-"

"-because you could use someone like him to break you out of your shell-"

"-he has the sexy bad boy down and you have the sweet innocent-"

"-even though it turns out you do have a sort of wild side-"

"-and he'd go all possessive of you in an amazingly sexy way-"

"-you would have _great_ sex-"

"-_Hannah_-"

"-and you'd be, like, the one to change him, you know?"

"Do not start on that stupid every girl wants to be the one that guy changes for cliché thing. If you're going to fall in love with them, why not someone you don't want to change?"

They all looked exasperated. "Because that sucks."

"Romance is overrated," she said, "half the time you fall for someone totally wrong for you."

"That is why it's romantic. Think of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth!"

"I'd rather love someone I don't want to change. If I'm already in love with them, why would you change what you love?"

"Stop!" Wailed Padma, "you're destroying my view on life!"

"Sorry." She shrugged and they dropped that topic, too.

"Can we go downstairs?" Susan asked, looking around to see heads nodding.

"Yes!" Shelby cooed. So they levitated everything downstairs and made a big nest of blankets, pillows and sleeping bags. After they'd settled down, they pretended to not notice that Blaise and Draco were in the corner still.

Shelby then set off on a long, winded explanation on how she though the Quidditch idea was amazing. From there they went to Draco and Blaise's amazing skills (a bit louder the necessary) to how loud Hermione's scream as, to how high they'd been, to drugs, and then moved on to hair color. (None of them really understood how that happened). Then they crouched behind the couches and watched Draco and Blaise, who then pretended they didn't notice but lowered their voices.

"Hermione, you should have a fight with Draco." Hannah said suddenly. "Then we can watch your body language."

"What? No." She laughed, "I'm not having a scheduled fight."

"It's not scheduled, you have to make up what you say on the spot." Lisa said, pushing her out from behind the couch.

"I don't want to fight with Malfoy." She said, but as she was pushed forward the 'Malfoy' part came out much louder then she'd hoped.

"Thinking about me, Granger?" He asked her from across the room, smirking.

"No," she spat, harsher then intended. "Why would I be thinking of _you_?" _Oops._

Draco tensed immediately, "I don't know. You're the one that screams my name while you have nightmares."

She felt her face and temper heating up. How dare he bring that up? "What about you by the lake? In the rain saying I was beautiful, huh? Or when you told me you couldn't sleep because you were thinking about me?"

He blanched, eyes flashing dangerously. "It really is a mark of how pathetic you are that you remember every stupid slip of my tongue."

"Slip of the tongue? Is that what is was?" She laughed bitterly. This was getting too heated too fast.

"Yeah, it was. Maybe you were too busy pretending I was someone else you didn't realize." He shot back. Was his anger heating the room? Because damn was he hot.

"Do not bring that up!" She shouted, her hands clenched tightly by her side.

"Why? Are you convincing yourself you didn't ask me to kiss you? Because you did!" He was shouting now, and it was the first time she'd ever had a fight with him where he was actually yelling. It was a sign of lost composure. Pansy emerged from her bedroom, her mouth agape.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" She shrieked, "just shut up!" No witty remarks came to mind.

"Decided to address me by my name now? Have you given up hoping you didn't want me to kiss you? Don't strain yourself, Granger. I wouldn't want you to be too concerned with a fucking Slytherin! God forbid you should even think of touching one!"

"Is that what you think?" Her hands stopped fumbling for the wand she didn't have. "That's not why! It was for _your_ benefit you jackass! I didn't think you would want to touch a filthy mudblood like me!"

Harry was emerging from the bathroom, no doubt having heard the commotion and thrown some clothes on. Blaise was standing up, holding out a hand in front of Pansy to hold her in place.

"Well you were right!" He roared.

Dead silence.

Had someone stabbed her?

Why did it feel like ice shards had just pierced her heart?

And then it hit her.

She heard a half-scream half-sob that some part of her mind knew was coming from her own mouth. She was vaguely aware of throwing a glass object from a nearby table at Draco's head. She saw Harry running forward and thought it was to hurt Draco, but she was wrong. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tried to pull her back.

"Let me go!" She was screaming, tears blinded her vision and everything turned into one big blur. "I hate you Draco Malfoy!" She shrieked, fighting a losing battle to get out of Harry's grip.

"_I hate you_!"

**Author's Note: I think this turned into my favorite chapter. As I wrote the end my pulse literally sped up. No joke.**

**I've actually surpassed the amount of writing I had for this story. Like, I'm running on nothing else right now. It's sort of weird, because I've had everything else written and now I don't. However, this chapter just ignited my interest in writing as much as possible in this story now, so there shouldn't be a problem. **

**I have the feeling the end was sort of a surprise, it did not start out in that direction, but hey, I think it was a nice addition. I also addressed the near kiss a lot more then I expected but I think it worked. **

**Okay, I'm in love with this fic right. Some Kind of Miracle, by Annie. It's actually on mugglenet right now, but I think the first two chapters are on here? She doesn't post here anymore, though. It's a Harry/Draco fic, and I don't support the ship but I like her stuff and read it because she wrote it and now it's one of my faves. If you're interested, check it out!**

**So let me know what you think, and…**

**Review review review!**


	22. Silent Is The Only Thing We Are Together

**Author's Note: Hey hey hey. Thanks all you guys for the AMAZING feedback you gave for the last chapter. It was really great.**

**Updated: I had a test today on metric conversions and stuff. Wow, did I ever FAIL that. XD. In science! It wasn't even in math. Oooh well. My parents aren't the grounding type so writing will not be interrupted. :D**

**Song I'm listening to and feel like telling you about: Never Had a Dream Come True by S Club 7**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

Hermione sat on a bed in the Hospital Wing, completely silent as the calming draught flowed through her veins. Draco, Pansy and Blaise were being treated by Madame Pomfrey because while the glass she'd thrown at Draco's face had missed, it had exploded off the wall and scratched their faces. Draco had ducked and Pansy had turned away with her hands on her face so they weren't off too bad, but Blaise had a big scratch on his cheekbone. The girls from the sleepover were waiting outside and Harry was standing beside her, frequenting anxious glances her way.

He had dragged her, screaming obscenities at Draco, down to the Hospital Wing where she'd been force fed a calming draught and made to sit down. Madame Pomfrey had tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't answer and so she'd been forced to ask a tearful Hannah what had happened. Apparently, as she was told later, Draco had also been questioned but wouldn't say anything.

"Miss Granger," Madame Pomfrey sat down beside Hermione's bed and gestured for Harry to wait outside with the other students, including the now patched up Slytherins. "I'm going to ask you one more time, why were you so upset?"

She was silent for awhile, trying how to best put it in words. "Him."

"You are referring to Mr Malfoy?"

"Yes." She was asked, of course, what exactly he had done that upset her but she'd kept her lips tightly sealed and, with a small pat on her shoulder, Madame Pomfrey straightened up.

"Well, I think it is safe to say the stress you accumulated that lead up to this explosion is now gone, so while I would like to stay the night, there is really no reason for you to." She looked a bit regretful, "but I would urge you to come and see me if anything like this happens again."

"I will," she said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

As she walked out the door Hannah grabbed her in a tight hug and held her there, apologizing over and over again while the other girls joined in. As they began to walk back upstairs, Hermione couldn't help but notice that Draco was at the very back of the group. She only knew this because she heard Pansy ask why he was walking so slowly. This fact might have gotten a bigger reaction out of her if the calming draught had not been effective.

Pansy gave Hermione a quick hug and a smile and then hurried back into her room, avoiding the intense look she was receiving. Blaise stood awkwardly for a few moments in front of her, pulled her into a one armed embrace and then walked into his room so quickly it might not even have happened. By the time Hermione thought to look for Draco he was no where to be seen.

She and the girls climbed into their nest of blankets and settled down, apologizing to Hermione again. "Oh please stop giving me that look." She said as Shelby looked at her with upset eyes, "so, what did our body language say?"

"Um…" Lisa looked sheepish, "this probably is not the time or place, but I actually got the impression that you two are so afraid of getting along that you twist everything you do together in the opposite way you meant it."

"Yeah," Hermione said sarcastically, "that's it."

Harry sat on the couch beside her, making sure she was comfortable and watching her as she began to sleep. Normally this would have bothered her, but right then she was grateful for it.

"_Stay away from me, mudblood." Draco spat and pushed her away from him violently. She hit someone else and they said, "mudblood," and pushed her away too. It was another Draco. They were all sneering at her, calling her filthy names. All but one._

_She was volleyed around, unable to control her movement and each time she hit another Draco he would insult her and push her away. She would get closer and closer to the good Draco but would never make it there. They were slowly cutting him off, moving into a tighter circle. He called her name and she reached out an arm._

"_Disgusting piece of filth." She was shoved completely off course from him. The next shove sent her straight at the good Draco, _her_ Draco. But she was falling, suddenly off balance and couldn't reach out for help. "Avada Kedavra!" She was hit by a blinding green light and fell at her Draco's feet._

She held back a scream and bit into her pillow, hard, so no one could hear her. It was pitch black.

Harry was laying spread eagled on the couch beside her, snoring softly and Ginny lay fast asleep on her other side, her mop of red hair reminding Hermione of Ron. How could she ever need Draco if she had them?

-

-

Breakfast was slightly awkward. She walked down to the Great Hall in the middle of a mob of girls and they spilt in the entrance, sitting at their tables with their respective partners. Draco sat beside her and was completely silent, it was almost like he wasn't there, which suited her fine. No one really knew what had happened the night before or that it was related to Hermione at all, so she was saved any glances until after Dumbledore introduced Matt. Of course, it was only the sixth year girls (and Ginny) that knew the significance of the name so she didn't feel too embarrassed by the unwanted attention.

The rest of the day was spent showing Matt around the castle. Draco trailed after them and made no comments. After dinner that evening she sorted her room's furniture out and put them back into the original places, then she collapsed on her bed and feel asleep. To her dismay she woke again at 3:00 in the morning and after trying fruitlessly to go back to sleep she padded down to the common room.

Somehow (she didn't remember very much because, as these things often happen, once you've finally given up trying to sleep you fall asleep) she ended up laying on her back beside the fire place. Harry prodded her awake the next morning, telling her they had to go breakfast and asking why she was on the floor.

As days always did when neither of them was affected by the potion, time sped up. It wasn't until Wednesday that Hermione realized she and Draco hadn't said anything to each other since the fight, not even 'pass the salt.' (Or pepper whichever you prefer). It also made her realize that they were alone. Not literally, of course. There were students all around them. Alone in the sense that no one else really had business talking to them. Alone in the sense that no one else occupied space in their mind. Alone in the sense that they were walking down the hall in silence as though no one else was there. Because silent was all they were together.

On Thursday morning during breakfast, which was particularly painful because Blaise, Harry and Pansy were eating with one of Blaise's friends from Ravenclaw (apparently he was an old friend), Draco turned to look at her and was quiet for a few minutes, as though deliberating speaking. He'd opened his mouth and Hermione had turned to him slowly. Something in her expression must have told him off, because he looked back at his food and made no other move the entire day.

On Friday, when Draco turned away from his five minute examination of Hermione (to which she was oblivious) Harry could be seen glaring threateningly at him. Instead of glaring right back, the blond bit his lip and looked away.

On Saturday, instead of asking the other what they wanted to do they spent the day sitting in the common room doing homework, reading, or writing letters. Anything to avoid speaking. However, glances were frequent.

On Sunday Hermione was getting nervous. The potion was going to be brewed the next day and she was worried about what was going to happen. First it had been her, then Draco and she was willing to bet the name flying from the potion would be hers. But then, Harry had been picked twice in a row. Would it be too much to hope Draco would be too?

Monday dawned cold and dark, taunting them with the thoughts of going back to sleep. However, she couldn't have slept again even if she'd tried, a bubble of anxiety was floating around her stomach. So when she woke up sorting through her memories was the first thing she did, pulling out things like the fight, the 'kiss me' incident, her and Pansy's plans and anything else she deemed appropriate.

They received their instructions and without a word began. At first she waited on the couch but after fifteen minutes realized that, much to everyone's dismay, Snape seemed to be increasing the difficulty of brewing the potions each time.

At 11:57 PM they were standing around the cauldron, watching the potion bubble sluggishly around. Making it had involved special adapted aging spells that could either destroy the potion or make it work. Draco snatched the paper as it flew from the cauldron and glanced at it. Confusion flashed across his face and he handed it to her, looking quite green. She looked down and felt her stomach drop.

_Hermione Granger_

_Draco Malfoy_

She looked over at the other group. Pansy looked jubilant and Blaise looked curious. Harry, however, was letting out a stream of curses and he snatched one of the glasses from Blaise's hands with a scowl on his face. Blaise murmured cheers and the two males drank. So two of them were drinking too. _Poor Harry._

She scooped out some of the thick potion and, holding her nose, downed the thick substance in one go and tried not to gag. Draco watched her, opened his mouth, and then changed his mind at the last second, raising the glass to his lips.

Instead of feeling anything different she stood there, completely the same. Blaise and Harry were standing still as well, as though bracing themselves for something that wasn't coming. Pansy was slouching against the wall, watching them.

"I'm going to sleep." Pansy said finally, "maybe it takes awhile and its 12:59 right now. I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, I think I'll turn in too." Hermione agreed and said a quick goodnight. While it seemed like it took hours to get to her room, it only took a minute. She was so tired right now she couldn't even make it to her bed, simply collapsing onto the shaggy pink carpet.

-

-

The next morning she awoke in bed shivering with cold. Further investigation showed that the blankets were on the floor. Immediately she felt annoyed, the stupid House Elves. She shifted, rolled over, and froze. She was used to rolling over, and it did not feel like that. One becomes accustomed to rolling over after numerous times. That was how she knew something was wrong, because when she usually rolled over, there was not pressure in certain areas there were now, and there was usually pressure in places there wasn't now. She looked down, looked around the room and did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.

This was Draco's room. She dashed to the mirror, already knowing what she was going to see, with one hand through her hair and the other gripping her t-shirt. Of course, it wasn't really her hair, because it was short, straight, blonde and silky. Draco's face, no, _her_ face, was reflected back to her. She was in Draco's body. Somehow, like a lesser sense, she was not surprised.

She ran to the door, yanked it open and sprinted to her room. Her strides were longer and she skidded to a halt, surprised at how fast she'd traveled. And then she saw herself-well her body- lying on a plush pink carpet, one foot hooked on the door, keeping it open.

"Wake up!" She shook her body-_Draco_- awake.

"What?" He moaned, and she had the strangest sense of misplacement as she heard her own voice coming from her own mouth, but without anything to do with her. Draco looked at her, looked down at himself and then screamed. Finding yourself in someone's body is a very traumatic thing.

"Shut up!" She snapped, sounding very Draco-like.

"What the hell is going one?" Draco asked, pulling himself to his feet and staring in a mirror.

"We've switched bodies you dolt," she snarled, the week long communication lapse forgotten. "Are you that stupid?"

"Well I'm in your body and its quite obvious _you_ are."

After that they stood in a shocked and awkward silence, trying to process everything. She was in Draco's body. There was still a fraction of her mind that was no surprised, and at the moment felt very awkward and kind of sorry. After a bit of wild guessing she came to one conclusion, however unstable it was. She and Draco had switched parts of their minds. Somehow, it seemed that the second set of emotions she was feeling at that time were his… they had to be his, how could someone besides her and Draco's thoughts be in one head?

"What?" Draco asked testily, folding his arms across his chest.

"Nothing." She said coldly, turning away. "Hurry and get dressed. No!" She whirled around, "_do not touch me_."

Draco, who had looked annoyed now looked alarmed. "Oh no. I haven't showered. You can't see me naked!"

An eerie sensation filled her as she watched Draco pace in front of her, biting his lip and twisting his hair around his finger. For a moment, a new feeling erupted as she realized Draco was biting _her_ lip. Of course, it sounded completely different then what it really was when she thought it like that, but in truth, that was what it was.

"Okay, we can't avoid this." He said slowly, "you shower now and since you-I mean _I_- showered last night, this is confusing…"

"I have to shower?" She asked, eyes widening. "I'm not so sure-"

"You'll just have to refrain the urge to _look_." He smirked, a slight blush tingeing his cheeks which was no doubt from the Hermione side.

"I-I- there is no urge to _look_." She said, almost blushing. Almost, because Draco didn't really blush so that meant _she_ didn't really blush. "I'm going now. To _not_ look."

As she turned away and left, a sudden thought flashed through her mind. _I have really screwed things up with her._

Her shower was short. She'd undressed to Draco's boxers, looked pointedly away, took deep breath, pulled them off and stepped into the shower. As soon as she'd washed her now silky blond hair and waited for the flowing water to wash the rest of her, she stumbled out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her waist.

It was still a shock to see grey eyes, blond hair plastered to her head and a white towel wrapped firmly around her male waist when she looked at the mirror. She knew any girl in Hogwarts would love to be in her position. A naked Draco Malfoy!

While she said the idea of looking had no appeal, it still bothered her. It was inevitable, how could she not catch a glimpse of him the entire week? Any other female would look. For a good five minutes she glared at her reflection, debating whether she should just get it over with.

"I hope your not staring!" The voice she was used to hearing coming out of her own mouth floated through the door. While she had been standing there, a small puddle of water had pooled at her feet. It was this puddle that when she jumped she slipped on. This puddle that sent her sliding across the bathroom and tumbling into the wall. This puddle that caused the towel to fall from her waist and land in a heap in front of the door. This puddle that, if you thought about it, was the reason she ended up in a position where even if she had tried not to, she still would have _seen_.

It must have been a minute she sat there, speechless and frozen. When her brain was able to process things as they happened again, she crawled to the towel, picked it up and threw it around herself. Mortified, she dressed quickly and stumbled from the bathroom in record time. Draco was waiting for her, slouching casually against the couch.

"Ready?" He asked, straightening up.

"Yes." She said stiffly, "I just have to throw this stuff into yo-my room." Throw was what she did, she opened the door and chucked the stuff at the bed.

"Did you like what you saw?"

Blaise (who Hermione realized was Harry) and Harry (who was Blaise) came out of Pansy's room. Harry walked slowly into the bathroom and Blaise sat on the couch, fingering the glasses on his face and shoving hair from his eyes.

"Did I what?" She asked, bringing her attention back to Draco.

"Like what you saw? Tell me you didn't stare at my naked body in the mirror." He raised an accusatory eyebrow, smirking.

"Did_ you_ look at _me_ while you dressed?" She crossed her arms,

"What do you think?" He said, smirk still in place.

"Then I guess we're even." She snapped.

"You _looked_?" Draco cried as his eyes widened and his smirk slid off his face.

"You _didn't_?"

Needless to say it was an awkward morning.

As Hermione had realized that morning, Blaise and Harry had made the switch and Pansy was perfectly normal. Blaise was tense and moody and nearly jumped out of his skin when Colin Creevey shouted his usual 'Hello Harry!' He kept shooting anxious looks at his own body, to Harry.

Harry, on the other hand, was acting extremely strange. He was acting quite stiff and was outright staring at a lot of people. The second he'd emerged from the dormitory he stiffened and froze, eyes wide. Blaise watched him, a slightly fearful expression on his face.

"Let's go." He'd said finally, they'd all turned to look at him. Blaise had avoided meeting his eyes the rest of the morning. Inside the Great Hall they found many uncomfortable sixth years sitting at the long table. _Probably because we wouldn't know what table to sit at. _It was an impulsive thought that did not originate from her, but Draco.

They walked over to the table and Hermione sat down beside Harry and Draco. Harry was staring at his own body intently, lost in thought. At first she'd kicked him, telling him he was being obvious. Then she realized Blaise stared at people sometimes, so it didn't really matter.

Then she'd realized what he was doing. If she was feeling Draco's emotions when she did something as well as her own, she would feel how Draco felt about other people too. So basically, Harry had figured out rather quickly that he could feel how Blaise felt about people and was taking the most from that. It struck her as interesting and the other part of her annoyed, since _Harry_ had figured it out first.

With this in her mind she decided to do some investigating. Blaise was first. So she looked at Harry, since he was in Blaise's body and Draco recognized him from his physical features. The Draco part seemed not to know anything about the switch. She was quite sure if she talked to Draco his thoughts would be exactly as if he was actually talking to her in his own body.

The first thing she felt was companionship and then solitude. This confused her and she remembered Blaise talking to her and her regret that she couldn't say more. But Blaise was her best friend and she hoped someday she could return as much trust as was given to her. It hurt her that she knew Blaise was hurt when she wouldn't open up and just talk about things that were personal.

Then she felt concerned. Blaise had come back to the school like himself but two weeks in he'd become withdrawn and visibly upset. After he'd met that old friend of his again. And he wouldn't tell her why. Blaise had always confided in her, even when she didn't return the sentiment. Usually he would approach her, ask if they could talk somewhere and she would spend minutes, even hours, listening to her dark skinned friend rant out his concerns. Instead he wandered around, absorbed in his own thoughts. She had even cornered him in the dormitories when they were running late and asked what was up. Blaise had leaned as far away as possible, avoided eye contact and left quickly, claiming he was meeting up with his friend. She had grabbed his wrist to stop him and gotten a, "let go," in the most acidic voice Blaise has ever used. That night he'd spent the entire evening write a long letter and two days later left the school.

After that, she felt his fear. She was afraid Blaise would realize how much better he was then her. She didn't feel like she was worth Blaise's time when the other male was obviously so much better. She was extremely lucky to be Blaise's friend and she barely even showed it.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Harry asked her, not looking away from his body.

"What? Oh, yes." She grabbed a piece of toast and began to spread some blueberry jam onto it.

"Don't." Draco said, snatching it from her hand. "You're allergic to blueberries."

"What?" She asked, annoyance flashing through her. _Stupid Gryffindor._

"You are allergic to blueberries." He said through gritted teeth.

"Fine." She snapped. This whole situation was his fault. The reason she'd broken down, the reason she'd been so hurt, the reason they hadn't spoken in a week. All because he'd overreacted because, for some stupid reason, she had said she'd pretend it wasn't him kissing her.

People were standing up around her and she got up, waiting for Draco to come around and stand beside her. They still had the rest of the day off and, as abruptly as this want appeared, she only wanted to fly. This would have been weird, except a part of Draco's mind was influencing this decision.

"Let's fly." She blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Fly? Hell yeah!" Draco grinned. Quite obviously the Draco part of that mind was dominating the decisions.

A small part of her was terrified, but the other part knew exactly what they were doing and was happy at the thought of being in the air. With these conflicting emotions she mounted her broom and kicked off. The second she was in the air something amazing consumed her. Everything flew from her mind, all her doubts, concerns, all of Draco's lingering thoughts… they just soared away as the ground began to get smaller and smaller.

She looked over at Draco. Fear and determination were written on his face as he stared at the ground and pulled the broom up ever higher. She was impressed, he was withstanding her fear of heights very well. And then she felt regret, sadness and content. She looked away and urged the broom around the pitch. Looking at Draco would make her find out how he felt about her and she didn't want to know, at least not yet.

The soothing effects of flying were taking over again and she flattened her body against the handle.

She could do this all day.

-

-

Unfortunately, they ended up leaving the pitch halfway through lunch. There was a slight stagger in Draco's step but besides that and a white face he was fine.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" He asked, glancing at her.

"Obviously," she snapped, "you love flying."

Draco paused, "do you understand what's going on? We didn't simply switch bodies."

"I think so. I think a part of our minds were switched. I can feel another set of emotions, they're yours but also my own independent set that is not affected at all by yours. I think that… this is a guess, but the part of your mind doesn't…know… that we've switched, it reacts to people as you would. That means…"

Draco picked up from where she left off. "I can feel how you feel about people."

"Yes, and the other way around."

"I see." He said, looking thoughtful.

"Anything else? Because I'd love to stand around and chat all day." She snapped, irritated.

"Do I always snap that much?"

"Yes, sometimes."

"Oh." He didn't say anything until they reached the Common Room. Hermione kicked off her shoes as he said, "do you want to do some homework?"

"No." She said, "you do homework. I'm reading."

"Fine." He shrugged, "it was only a suggestion."

"Well you suggest too much." She said, heading to his room to look for good reading material.

As she walked over to the book shelf she felt a sharp pain in her foot. "Damn it!" She cursed, looking down and pulled a piece of glass from her foot. With another more explicit curse she bent over to pick up the larger pieces of some shattered object. Simultaneously she had a flashback of seeing her grey eyes reflected in her mind, a shatter as the bottle she threw hit the wall, and a strong scent of cologne. The cologne she loved. All over the carpet and, upon further investigation, the wall.

Accompanying both these she felt a flash of anger. When she delved deeper into this she couldn't figure anything out. Everything came up blank. Whatever had caused this was gone, the memory had been removed.

"What are you doing?" Draco shouted and she dropped the glass back to the floor. She'd deal with it later.

"Nothing." She called back, and scanned his bookshelf quickly, settling on _Body Language: Cornelias Alliyas's Guide to the Physical Language. _Draco shot her a strange look when she sat down with it and she buried her head behind the cover. As she read, silky blonde hair kept falling into her eyes and it was quite annoying.

As she straightened up and pushed it from her eyes for the millionth time she saw Draco watching her intently.

"Sorry." He mumbled, looking down.

"For what?" She asked curiously.

"I, erm, don't know."

"Okay, well stop." She said grumpily and went back to her book. Five minutes later she looked up and saw Draco's eyes shift to his homework. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, "I'm just seeing."

"Seeing what?" She asked, raising her eyebrow in the way Draco always did and infuriated her.

"If I can find out how you feel about people, I'm going to. My body just happens to be the only one here right now." He said with a very defiant Hermione-ish look.

"Oh." For a second she was struck dumb. Of course it had occurred to her that she could feel how Draco did when he looked at her, but it had not really made her think that so could he.

"Why?" He asked, a Draco like smirk flashing across his face, "anything you wouldn't like me to feel? Like your passionate lust after my body?"

"No." She snorted and lifted the book, pretending to read furiously. Her first impulse had been to sit there and stare at him, making faces and pretending she was finding out all sorts of bad things. But that was stupid. For one thing, it was immature. Two, it would let him know he'd gotten to her. Three, she still didn't want to know.

_Eyes are key in the communication of bodies. They can be as open as welcoming doors or as closed as the highest security vault in Gringotts. Eye contact is the best truth potion man can create…_

She wasn't surprised to find that Draco had read it several times already, it was well worn. However, she enjoyed reading it and, despite feeling two sets of emotions at once, she found that both set felt the same for a majority of the read,

Nothing happened that was very important-until Ginny knocked on the door. Draco answered it and found it very strange to see a Weasley grinning at him.

"Hi Hermione!" She said cheerfully and held out a napkin with a sandwich in it. "You weren't at lunch so I brought you something."

"Oh." Draco said, staring at the outstretched hand. "Thanks."

"Its not poisoned." She said, smiling and pushing it into his hand as she stepped through the door. "Not yet, anyway. Where's Malfoy?"

"Right-" He was interrupted as Ginny saw Hermione sitting on the couch.

"Were you two in here together?"

"No." Hermione said as Draco said, "yes."

"Okay then…" Ginny gave Draco a funny look. "Let's go upstairs."

"Yeah," Draco said and followed her up to Hermione's room. This was not good. The red-head sprawled out on Hermione's bed and he sat down awkwardly beside her.

"I was wondering how you were." Ginny said, tracing a crease in her bed-spread.

"I'm fine." Draco said, trying to act like Hermione.

"Are you sure? You haven't been looking very good this past week, I haven't talked to you since the sleepover. Draco really hurt you, huh?"

"Yeah I mean…I guess I'm used to it though." He said, he found it strange that Ginny called him Malfoy to his face and Draco behind his back.

"But you've never reacted like that." Ginny pressed.

"It's never…" he thought hard, trying to understand what Hermione's response would be with her emotions. He came up with what seemed to be truthful. "Hurt so much."

"But why? You're not developing…feelings for him are you? You said yourself you would never love him."

"No! I could never love such a repulsive pureblood Slytherin."

"A what?" Ginny raised her eyebrows, "that's a new one."

"Well what do I usually call, er, him?"

"Malfoy." Ginny said, looking thoughtful. "You know the most insulting thing I've heard you say recently is that you don't find him attractive."

"I, er, said that, did I?" Draco asked, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, at the sleepover." She rolled her eyes. "Don't try to change the subject. So what happened, did you just snap?"

"He promised not to call me the _m_ word." Draco said, hoping to god he wasn't making her suspicious.

"The m word? Have you developed some kind of avoidance thing with that word now?"

"No no I…I think I've realized something." He said, his best way to get out of that mistake.

"Okay?"

"I think that... you know the whole kiss thing earlier that day?" He took a chance. If she said no he'd exclaim over how he'd thought he'd told her and if she did, no questions asked. She nodded and he continued, "I think I wanted him to kiss me."

"Oh," Ginny's jaw dropped, "wow."

"I know. It's so wrong." Draco sighed, imagining people's reaction if he said that in his real body. "Can we not talk about he-im."

"Yeah, I guess." Ginny said, looking at him anxiously. She began talking about a guy named Daniel that had asked her out and how she was sad that things would be weird between them for awhile, even if they denied it. He was _almost_ surprised when she nonchalantly mentioned the reason was Harry. Any fool could see those two together and know how they felt about each other. Of course, Harry _was _the stupidest of fools.

"Why don't you just tell him?"

"I-what?"

"Just tell him you like him. What's the worst that could happen?"

"He could completely reject and embarrass me, plunging our relationship into an awkward hole." She said unblinkingly.

"But what's the best?"

"He could feel the same way." She said, looking blissfully happy at the thought.

"Just go for it," he prompted, hardly believing that _he_ was giving _Ginny Weasley_ advice on snagging _Harry Potter. _

"Do you want a recap on the worst case scenario?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Is he even the type of guy that will embarrass you? If he likes you, he won't hide how he's feeling from you. You'll know if he's upset or happy or anything. He'll seek out conversation with you over the most trivial things just to hear your voice. He might even pretend that you have something in your hair or on your face just so he can get away with looking at you." Draco said slowly.

"Wow," Ginny replied, impressed. "That sounds all nice and great, but what if there _is_ something on my face?"

"Is he worth it?" Draco finally said in an annoyed voice. She was so annoying!

"Yes."

"There you go." He said, closing his eyes.

"When are you going to find someone?"

"What?" He cracked open an eye.

"When are you going to find someone that makes you get all nervous and girly and giggly?"

"I just went out with Seamus." He said, feeling disgusted that those words were coming from his mouth.

"But he didn't make you as happy as you could be." For some reason, this words made him slightly happier. "I think you both knew it wouldn't work out."

"Er…yeah."

"You know what? When you finally start openly talking about a guy in a girly way, I will go up and hug them. Even if its Snape!" Ginny said, grinning.

"Okay." He said, not catching on the joke in those words.

"Anyway, I should go I have a test."

"Okay." He repeated, feeling quite stupid. The two walked back downstairs and after Ginny hugged him swiftly she left.

"What did she say?" Hermione was sitting rigidly on the couch, the book she'd been reading closed on her lap.

"Nothing. Just stuff about the sleepover." He felt a pang of something akin to pain as he said that.

"Oh," she said and he knew she was on the receiving end of some of his thoughts. "How much about it?"

"Stuff."

"Tell me, she's my friend!" Hermione frowned at him as he walked over and sat down on the couch opposite hers.

"She wanted to know if I-you were okay because apparently I hurt you pretty bad." He snapped.

"Well you did." She snarled and picked up the book, flipping through it until she found her previous page and stuck her head behind it. Draco picked up the homework and set to work on writing more gibberish; he hadn't written anything that made sense the entire time they'd been there. Besides a few stolen glances, ink splotches and ripped pages there was only one other thing worth recording. As they sat, completely separated from each other and with the appearance of loathing, every piece of the two minds had the same thought.

_Will we be like this forever?_

**Author's Note: **

**OK, instead of doing that annoying 'Hermione(in Draco's body) said, 'blah blah' to Draco (in Hermione's body)' thing, I'm going to refer to Draco's face as his face, only it is in Hermione's body. Right? Yes. When Hermione delves into his emotions, she sees them through her eyes and sees memories as herself in Draco's body. Therefore, that is why it says Blaise was her best friend, etc. Got it? If not, tell me and I'll explain as best as I can.**

**Well the end of this chapter was difficult to write…yeah. **

_**OK, I need a favor. One of you readers read my story and added me/the story to a favorite/alert or reviewed or something, and I clicked on your profile (I do that sometimes to check out your stuff, even if you haven't written anything) and in your favorite stories there was one of those cliché stories that mocks other cliches. Well I read it and found it terribly funny, and I didn't save a link to it or anything so I lost it. I looked through all the alerts I got and I couldn't find your name. So if you know of a story like this, tell me. One of the things in it was Draco changing his last name to 'Bear' because he didn't want to be a Malfoy anymore… I found it very funny. XD. I laughed hysterically for awhile. So if this is you, please please please tell me! Thanks!**_

**Anything else? I don't think so… ideas are appreciated! (Especially with the whole switching bodies thing. Any scenes you want in there? Funny situations? Even if ther're cliché, I'd love to hear!)**

**Review review review!**


	23. Serious Relationship Issues

**Author's Note: I found it! The story! It's called **_**A Complete Collection of Cliché Dramione Plots by Mistress of Craziness**_**. (There's only five chapters so far, it won't take long to read. Its great!) I laughed hysterically at it. Oh, and read the one shot she recommends in the first or second chapter. It's horrible in a very funny way. And then read **_**Harry Potter and the Curse Of the Ever Changing Plots by dress-without-sleeves. **_**It's quite funny too.**

**There's quite a bit of the Pansy/Draco relationship, because its not as black and white as I made it seem and it's more complicated. Plus, Pansy has grown on me, and I feel she deserves a bit of time. **

**OH! And I made a poll! Of course, its for the House of Hell but if you've read it, please vote!**

**It is currently Tuesday in the story, and after she goes to sleep it will be (big shocker here) Wednesday!**

**Disclaimer- Don't own it.**

Before she went to bed that night she decided to ask Draco about the cologne bottle. For some reason it struck her as significant that it was broken and couldn't help but give it a wide berth when she put the book away.

Draco was just emerging from the bathroom as she sat down on the couch to wait for him and she jumped to her feet. "Malfoy!" He turned to look at her and suddenly she found that her heart was beating a bit faster. Maybe confrontation wasn't the best way to talk to him at the moment. Of course, it was more _him_ that was nervous about talking to _her_, as strange as that sounded.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask you about something."

"Okay, what?"

"Something by your shelf, something glass," she saw recognition on his face, "is broken. I didn't get too close because I didn't want to hurt myself on any broken pieces so I don't know what it was."

"Yeah, I, er, dropped an inkpot. I forgot, what with all the 'excitement.'" Beneath his layer of sarcasm he filled the last word with, she could hear his uncertainty.

"Oh? I didn't see any ink," she said innocently, watching his face falter.

"House Elves," he lied. At the look on his face she waited, getting the impression he was listening to _her _side of the mind. Then he snorted, "SPEW?"

"Shut up," she muttered, then louder, "maybe I should clean it up?"

"No, no." Draco said hurriedly. "Don't touch it."

"Why are you acting strange?" She asked, deciding to be direct. "Is it because you know I know you're lying?"

"What?"

"You lied. I smelled the cologne on the wall and the carpet reeks of it where it broke." She watched him blush and avert eye contact. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you lie?"

"I don't know," he snapped, "is the interrogation over? Because I'm done."

She felt he was really overreacting and didn't concern herself with how he was behaving. The door slammed. It was probably due to hormones. A disgruntled annoyance filled her, because she had just gotten the impression Draco put her moods down to that often.

Hermione climbed into Draco's bed, feeling uneasy. Why hadn't they just decided to sleep in their own beds?

-

Sleep was much more difficult then she'd thought. Even after staring at the ceiling for several long, godforsaken hours she couldn't shake the feeling that she was intruding on someone else's space. Eventually she drifted into a light doze but woke every hour or so after starting violently, thinking someone had just shouted at her. Every so often Draco's mind would drift away and her face would flash in her mind, but she ignored it. It didn't mean anything to her. Well it shouldn't, anyway.

-

"Sleep well?" Draco asked her at breakfast. She snapped her eyes away from the Head Table where Matt was surveying the students.

"No. You?"

"Sort of." He said, "you have weird dreams."

"What?" She said sharply, thinking he'd had one of her nightmares. "About what?"

He eyed her, noting the crisp tone she'd taken. "Potter, Weasley and I-_you_ were holed up in some dirty house, looking through books about dark magic. Then McGonagall comes in and tells me the mission was a bust and I failed. I start crying and apologizing and saying 'I tried' while Potter and Weasley demand to know what is going on. Then I woke up." He watched her and bit into a piece of bacon.

"I see." She said, dread pooling in her stomach. She knew exactly what that was in reference to. "Do you understand any of it?"

"No." He said, a flash of irritation crossing his face.

"Good." She said, quite rudely, and went back to her breakfast. It was almost a comfort to her, this frosty banter and knowing she couldn't run away with her thoughts in his presence or he'd pull something over her. It kept her alert.

Pansy, Harry and Blaise sat down a few minutes later. Blaise looked horrible, his black hair looked messier then it ever had while Harry's mind still inhabited his body. His eyes were half lidded and fluttered every so often as he tried to stay awake. He and Harry both had dark circles under their eyes. Pansy, on the other hand, looked magnificent.

"Morning," she greeted cheerfully, sitting down.

"Hi." Hermione and Draco both said. _Pansy… now would be the best time to examine her. _She sipped pumpkin juice and propped a text book up so she had a clear view of Pansy but the book gave the illusion that she was reading. She relaxed and let emotions take over her body.

Disgust was primary. Pansy more often then not (though actually, it was more not now) threw herself at people, knowing that once they were done with her they wouldn't look twice. Then there was regret, because they had been such good friends. Amid all those there was sadness for what was lost, anger because it was her fault and confusion as to how she could ever let it happen.

Then she remembered encounters. She'd never been present for any of them but in a split second she had every little detail as though she had. They were_ her_ memories, except they were his.

_--------------------------_

"_Draco? Are you excited?" A breathless Pansy asked. They were both already dressed in their new Hogwarts robes, even though the Hogwarts Express had only been going for half an hour._

"_Yeah, are you?"_

"_Yeah! And nervous, too. What if I'm not in Slytherin?"_

_Draco shrugged, "I wouldn't care for you any less. Even if you were a," he shuddered, "a Gryffindor. But I know you'll be with me in Slytherin, I wouldn't let them put you anywhere else."_

_She beamed at him, a bit more then friendship glowing in her eyes. Perhaps if he hadn't been so oblivious things would be different._

_--------------------------_

_Pansy threw her arms around, "yes!" _

_The feast had just ended and they were finally able to talk and walk alone. Crabbe and Goyle had been tailing him since they'd met up on the train. _

"_I told you."_

"_I know," she said, her eyes bright. "I know." She backed away and pulled another girl forward, "this is Millie. She's my new friend."_

"_Oh," Draco said. He'd forgotten Pansy would get other friends. "This is Blaise, _my_ new best friend." He pulled a dark skinned boy from the crowd of first years. Pansy's face fell and she bit her lip. That might have marked the beginning of their divide._

_--------------------------_

"_Hi Pansy," Draco said, stepping forward to hug her in their usual greeting. The past summer they had barely seen each other and while he had written at the beginning, her preoccupied replies had been worth nothing and he'd stopped. She hadn't even come to his twelfth birthday party._

"_Uuuh Draco?" She stepped away from him and glanced at her two friends. They were smirking and nodded encouragingly at her. "I don't want any accidents to happen."_

"_What?"_

"_I wouldn't want you to be excited or anything." He giggled and batted her eyelashes, "plus guys don't hug girls that much. Not unless they're dating."_

"_Pansy I don't…we're not…I don't think of you...like that." He tried to ignore all the metallic coloured makeup on her face. She looked better without it._

"_Shh." She giggled again, "see you around."_

_He stood there, watching as she strutted away with an extra sway to her hips and stuck her head together with her two friends, giggling. He was completely confused._

_--------------------------_

"_You know Pansy?" Blaise whispered as they lay in the Great Hall, tension in the air. None of _them_ were worried, of course. Black was only after Harry._

"_Of course I know Pansy." He snapped irritably._

"_Theodore told me was kissing him and Jack at the same time."_

"_No. She wouldn't do that, she's not like that." Draco argued, not even sure why he was holding onto what seemed like the last shred of their friendship. They barely even spoke and he pretended not to care about that fact in public._

"_They both said she was, you know…like, _touching_ them."_

_They heard giggling and watched Pansy creep over to her own sleeping bag, a fourth year Slytherin watching her move through the darkness. _

"_You sure?" Blaise asked, watching Pansy slip into her own sleeping bag and whisper with her two friends._

"_I know her." He said. But he didn't. Not anymore._

_--------------------------_

"_I can't believe you fought for her." Blaise murmured as he wiped blood from an impatient Draco's lip._

"_He called her a slut. She is not a fucking slut!" He said, not only was he now bruised and bloody but after that stupid ferret incident with Moody no one would leave him alone! Now the stupid Gryffindor trio had something over him._

"_She doesn't act like it," Blaise said matter-of-factly. "She's told everyone that you're madly in love with her, always come onto her and tried to grope her all the time."_

"_Oh." A vicious sense of betrayal filled him, as well a hard resolve. It was time he tried to let go._

_--------------------------_

"_Hi Drakey." Pansy said, swaying by him. It was pretty amazing, how she could walk and move her hips that much at the same time. No doubt five years of practice did the trick. He didn't answer and she turned to look at him. "Drakey? I said hello."_

"_I know." He said coolly, "and I didn't."_

_Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle all sniggered while Blaise snapped to look at him. Pansy's jaw dropped a bit. "What's wrong, Drakey?"_

_She moved closer, wrapping her arms around him. "Should I make it all better?"_

"_Unless you plan on jumping off the earth and out of existence, I doubt you can help." The people around them laughed and Pansy backed off. _

"_Draco?" For a second he was looking at his best friend, the one that was about to cry because her mother was in the St. Mungo's after her first heart attack. _**No, **he told himself, **its not her.**

"_What?"_

"_I-I thought we were friends?" She asked, her face pale. No doubt because of the humiliation she was facing from being treated badly in front of the entire Slytherin Common Room._

"_You thought wrong." He snarled, "we haven't been friends for years. You really need to let go, Pansy. Because I have." She flinched back and her friends glared at him with their hands on their hips. Behind him his friends folded their arms and raised amused eyebrows. It was almost like a battle of the sexes. "Anything else?"_

_She shook her head, eyes wide. "Good." He turned away and, just before the leaving through the portrait hole turned around. "Oh, and for the record. I wouldn't come onto you if you were the last human being on the earth, because I'm not going to take something that everyone else can and has had." He smirked and left, leaving the clapping Common Room behind him. That was why Draco was their leader._

_--------------------------_

"_Draco?" Blaise prodded him awake, "Draco."_

"_What?" He snapped awake, glaring._

"_You know Pansy has refused to talk to anyone for the past three days."_

"_Never one for subtlety, were you?" He said dryly, sitting up. "I don't care."_

"_Yes, you do." _

"_What do you want Zabini?" He growled. "In case you didn't notice it's the middle of the goddamn night."_

"_You ignore me if I bring it up," Blaise said, "you can't get away right now, and I couldn't sleep."_

"_Great." He muttered, "my best friend is nocturnal. So what do you want?"_

_His friend watched him silently for awhile. "To know you're okay."_

"_I am." He said, and in his mind he was. Pansy was history and the separation (if you could call it that) didn't even affect him. In truth, he hadn't cared for her in years. _

_--------------------------_

Overwhelmed, Hermione looked away. She'd never suspected his feelings for Pansy would be so complex. The fact that he had tried to hold onto their friendship for so long… it was a part of him she didn't know, and she was slightly surprised to know that this bothered her. For some reason she'd been under the illusion that she knew him better then anyone, but it was so untrue. She'd felt like she was the only one who understood him and his flaws and his everything, like they had some special relationship. She barely knew him at all. She hadn't even known he was allergic to blueberries and she'd eaten every meal with him for the past month and a half!

It was disgruntling, to say the least. One, because she hated that she felt that way. Two, because she was just hit by the awareness that she didn't know nearly half as much as she thought she did. Three, because she realized how incredibly incompatible they seemed to be. And four, because she'd only just realized she barely knew this person that she'd thought she'd become so close to. Because they were close, not matter how much either person denied it. And she liked that fact.

Draco was looking at Blaise from the corner of his eyes, drinking in her feeling for him. This was disconcerting and she tried to think of something other then Draco knowing how she felt about people. It was weird.

Their first class was transfiguration. Professor McGonagall barely acknowledged the whole mind switch thing. All she said was, "in regards to the potion, I don't care what you look like or who you are. I will address you by who you appear to be. Just do the work."

"You are now your partner, right?" Professor Santrina had said in Ancient Runes, looking around at them all. The grumbled various yeses. "Excellent. If you would please reply to _your_ name, stand up and tell the class you are that would be nice."

They did as told and she beamed at them all. "Good. I hope you get to understand your partner more-"

Draco made a noise as if to say 'hardly' and Harry muttered, "yeah, a bit too much."

"-today we'll be looking at the differences in muggle and magical interpretation of runes…"

Lunch did not come soon enough. Draco, apparently, liked to keep up a constant stream of food in his stomach and she was famished by the time they got to the Great Hall. Ignoring Draco's noise of disgust she ate quickly (though not messily) only slowing down after two and a half sandwiches.

"So…who's this?" Theodore's body asked her when she took a break.

"Hermione," she said, eyeing the Head Table. Matt was talking animatedly to Professor Flitwick. "You?"

"Lisa," she said, "how weird is this?"

"Very," she agreed fervently. "Have you, you know, looked at your own body yet? To find out how he feels about you?"

"You can do that?" Lisa's eyes went wide.

"Yeah, you just look at people and let yourself feel their emotions."

"Oh." Lisa stared at Hermione for a minute. "Wow. I can. I have to tell Theo!"

_Theo? _She thought, amused. Things were definitely changing with this project.

Word traveled up and down the table. Apparently people hadn't been very observant. She wondered how long it would have taken her to realize if she hadn't seen Harry do it.

"Have you done it?" Lisa asked her a few minutes later.

"Yeah." She said, looking at Draco from the corner of her eyes.

"This is so cool," Lisa said and sat back, staring un-bashfully at Theodore.

Hermione looked at Harry and after a second's hesitation, didn't look away. There was no time like he present, right?

Loathing hit her first, though not as strong as she'd expected. Harry was an annoying, attention seeking, Dumbledore loving twat. Next came curiosity. He would love to understand the mystery of Harry Potter. Not to know every little strength and weakness so he could mock him later, but because he wanted to _understand_ so badly.

And then jealousy. Not because of the attention he got. Not because of his Quidditch skills (though there was definitely some there). Not even how everyone seemed to worship him, because he had to admit he'd done some pretty spectacular things. No, it was because what he had. _Who_ he had, more specifically. He had Hermione, who-

She looked away. That was enough. Suddenly she felt like she was breaking his trust, trespassing his mind or taking advantage of him. It felt wrong, even though he was doing the same thing.

"Hey," she poked his shoulder to get his attention. It was weird, touching your own body and not feeling it. He turned to look at her and she smiled faintly as her heart sped up. Was he always that nervous when he had to talk to her? "I think we should make a deal."

"About what?"

"The whole, find out how we feel about other people thing. Who have you scrutinized?"

"All our teachers, Weasley, Blaise, Potter, Weasley, Pansy, Finnegan, Mathew and myself."

"Oh." She was struck dumb. He was very quick about it all. "I've…well I've looked at Harry, Blaise and Pansy."

"Oh?" Hs stiffened, knowing what she knew.

"I think we should agree not to try to find out more from other people. Except for ourselves, I suppose its only fair that way." She regretted saying that, it would be so much easier to have just left it.

Draco was silent for a moment and she was sure he was going to ridicule her and ask what she was trying to hide. "Fine."

"Fine," she repeated, rather aggressively.

"Good." Draco grinned and turned back to his salad.

_Okay. _Draco's mind though cheerfully. Hermione found this quite weird and spent the rest of lunch in silence.

-

"Snape was giving me the evil eye all class." Draco complained back in their Common Room after dinner that night. No one said anything and they all watched each other in silence.

"This is a bit awkward." Blaise finally said.

"Yeah."

"Blaise…" Harry said slowly, turning to look at him.

"Er, yes?" He replied, not looking over.

"Can I talk to you please? In my room?"

"No, I don't think so. I'd rather not."

"I don't care," Harry's response was sharp. "You avoided me all the last night, you wouldn't even stay in the same room! You can't do it tonight."

"Want to bet?"

"Blaise!" Harry said loudly, cutting him off.

"Shut up Harry!" Blaise shouted, "we have _nothing_ to talk about."

"Yes we do!" Harry roared, "just talk to me, okay? Should I tell Pansy, then?"

"No! Stay out of my life, Potter!"

"That's a bit hard considering the whole school thinks I _am_ you."

Blaise stormed to Harry's room and at the last second turned back. "If you say anything to Pansy, just _one fucking_ _thing_, I will never speak to you again." Then he slammed the door, leaving an astonished silence in his wake.

"Harry…"

"What?" She snapped and she scowled at him.

"Nevermind, just go sulk in your room." She muttered.

"Fine," he stalked to Blaise's room, careful to slam the door louder then Blaise.

"Do you have any idea what that was about?"

Pansy shook her head, mystified. "I'm going to find out, though. All I know is your group isn't the only one with serious relationships issues."

Before either of them could take offense to what she'd said, she'd left them. "We don't have serious relationship issues, do we?" Hermione looked at Draco, who snorted.

"No."

She stood up, nodding. "Didn't think so."

But as she opened the door to Draco's room she heard a distinct 'yes.'

-

As Hermione climbed into bed she thought of Harry and Blaise's fight. They'd gotten along amazingly, what had happened?

Of course, as things always seemed to she was reminded of her and Draco. Was she making any progress with their relationship? She realized with a start that she wasn't trying to get along with Draco anymore just because of the Order. She hadn't been doing that for a long time. She was doing it because she wanted to. Of course, it wasn't that big a shock but for some reason she'd never actually come to that conclusion, in all her many ponderings of their interaction. It seemed significant.

But things were very strange between them, ever since the big fight…She felt a pang in her stomach as she thought about that. Somehow she knew without knowing that he had obsessed over it for the entire week, thinking about all the things he would have done differently. She'd never thought he was one for stressing over the past. Another reminder of how much she didn't know him.

As she drifted to sleep, she found Draco's mind lingering on her. This wasn't a rare occurrence, she knew. This seemed significant, also, but her mind slipped away before she realized that.

-

"Wake up," a shaky voice roused her from her sleep. "Granger?"

Once her eyes were accustomed to the light she made out Draco sitting beside her on the bed, tear stains running down his cheeks. "What's wrong?" Fear dropped in her stomach so quickly it was like water falling through your fingers. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?"

"I-you-I had a nightmare." He whispered. She might have made a scornful remark had he not be shaking so noticeably.

"That bad?" She mumbled, sitting up.

"Yes," Draco answered defiantly. "I'm pretty sure it was on your half, but I was terrified out of my goddamn mind and screaming when I woke up. I don't remember any of it, but I can't sleep."

"I'm not staying awake," she said grumpily. I was too late to be doing this.

"I know but…this is going to sound really weird…can I just sleep in here?"

"Why would you want to do that?" She asked dumbly, still trying to force herself not to fall asleep right then. Wasn't Draco supposed to be able to wake in a second?

"I don't know! Our thoughts are all screwed together, can I stay or not?" He snapped, still shaking and trying desperately to stop.

"Fine, whatever." She sighed and flopped down, rolling onto her side. This had better not be one of those you-go-to-bed-with-someone-you-dislike-and-wake-up-spooning incidents. Well, she didn't exactly dislike him… A small shiver went though her at this idea, from excitement or disgust she couldn't tell.

-

It turned out not to be one of those you-go-to-bed-with-someone-you-dislike-and-wake-up-spooning incidents. Hermione woke up with all the blankets wrapped around her snugly. Draco was sitting beside her, staring at her.

"Erm…morning?" She said, unnerved by Draco's intense expression. "What time is it?"

"Decided to wake, have you?" Draco said in an amused voice.

"Yes." She said stiffly. "Decided to stop staring, have you?" Without waiting for an answer she continued, "what time…"

"7:00."

"Huh."

There was an awkward silence as they both felt they should say something but neither knew what to say. "I'll just go, then."

Draco got up and walked slowly to the door. Before he left he turned back, said a quick 'thanks' and slipped out.

"You're welcome," she whispered.

-

"Harry!" Ginny's voice called from behind them as they walked to the Great Hall. Blaise froze, his eyes wide. Ever so slowly he wheeled around to face her.

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you alone please?" She asked breathlessly, her eyes bright.

"Now, er, isn't a good time." He said, shifting awkwardly.

"But its import-"

"I can't talk right now," he said firmly.

"Oh." She said slowly, "okay. Well…I'll see you around, then?"

"Definitely," he said, grinning lopsidedly at her. She blushed as she turned away, something only Hermione caught.

"Hey, Ginny?" Draco said as she was about to join her friends again.

"Yes?"

"Come talk to me again tonight, okay?"

"Sure." Ginny beamed at him and Hermione tried _not _to say something. She hated not being able to talk to her friend. As soon as Ginny had walked away, chatting somewhat distractedly with her friends (though glances at Harry were frequented), Hermione waved away the trio they'd been walking with. Once they were out of earshot she rounded on her blonde haired companion.

"Oh my god! You told her, didn't you? You told her to tell Harry!"

He drew himself up to his full height, which wasn't much at the moment, and said, "Yes I did. Isn't that what you would've done?"

"Yes, if Blaise wasn't Harry right now." She said crossly. "You do realize that for the rest of the week Blaise will have to avoid Ginny, who will think he doesn't like her and lose hope that their relationship has a chance?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "Blaise_ doesn't_ like Ginny."

"You're stupidity amazes me," she said condescendingly. "Ginny thinks that Blaise is Harry right now. Harry is, to everyone else, Blaise. If Ginny confesses her feelings to _Blaise_, he either has to pretend to be Harry and repeat every conversation they have so if there is a reference to it Harry understands, or reject her which will cause unhappiness on both parties!"

Draco stared at her for ten seconds, silent. "I don't which is weirder, the fact that I understand every single thing you just said and want to participate in the discussion of Potter and Weasley's budding romance or that you can think of all that emotional shit and still surpass me academically."

She hmphed. "It is not 'emotional shit.'"

"Yes it is," Draco said as they resumed their walk to the Great Hall. "It's all stupid. Why don't they just shag and get it over with?"

Hermione's jaw dropped as she turned to look at him. "'Shag and get it over with'? _Shag and get it over with!_'" Her voice had risen several tones.

"Yes, Granger. It doesn't change what I said, not matter how many times you repeat it."

"They are not-this is something-you don't know-_entirely different_-are you thick?" She couldn't find the words to phrase what she wanted to say. Eventually they came out in a tumble with no breathing in between her words. "Harry and Ginny share an emotional connection that has nothing to do with shagging and I can't believe you would imply they have the emotional range of-of sex crazed teenagers! This is much deeper then shagging! This is a relationship, Malfoy. Not everyone shies away from that word."

He blinked and then glared, scowling. "I do not shy from the word-that word!"

"Of course not." She smirked and they sat down at the long table, filling their breakfast plates. Minutes passed and she spoke again. "You gave Ginny advice on romance? Aren't you the sweet romantic."

Instead of arguing with her, like the people surrounding them suspected would happen Draco smiled cockily. "I am. That's why you're so in love with me."

She placed a hand over her heart and sighed. "You've figured it out. Handsome _and _intelligent? Who would have ever suspected."

With small smiles they both took a drink of coffee, finding their little game quite amusing. When she looked up she found Harry, Blaise and Pansy watching them strangely. "What?"

"Nothing," Harry muttered, turning away. "It's just weird seeing you get along with _Malfoy._"

"Must you insist on using that tone of voice while saying my name, _Potter_?" Draco asked haughtily and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"_Yes_."

"You get along with Blaise and Pansy fine, why can't I get along with Malfoy?" Hermione interrupted what was sure to be an argument with much swearing and sarcastic remarks.

Harry merely shook his head and gave her a half smile, as though she should have figured out her answer from what she'd just said. Finally, when she'd had enough of his annoying look and she had no idea what he was talking about, she snapped, "what?"

"It's _Malfoy._" Harry said simply. That was when she realized that despite how well she and Draco had been interacting, he was still Harry's archenemy. They still didn't get along, and things were still the same between them. She was really beginning to dislike the switch, she was being enlightened by too many things.

"He isn't as horrible as you think." She said quietly, perfectly serious.

"Thanks Granger, I'm touched."

"I'm being serious Malfoy, so shut up." She snapped as she turned to look at him.

"You know Granger, I think the fact that you're leaning into me is a sign of your desperate love for me."

She smirked, "have you forgotten, though how you could is a mystery to me, that we've done the 'mind switch' thing. I'm acting on mostly your impulses, your feelings, half the time. I think it's you who's attracted to me."

"Don't flatter yourself," he said and she laughed. That would have been her exact response, right from the lofty chuckle to the tone of voice.

"I'm not," she replied good naturedly, "having _you_ fancy me would be the opposite of flattery."

Draco scowled, "yeah I bet it is."

His response confused her, but not nearly as much as his next thought. _Having you fancy me would be more then flattery. _She felt her eyes widen and turned away.

"What?" Draco asked self-consciously.

"Nothing. It's not important."

_But it is._

-

Defense Against the Dark Arts was first and they filed into the classroom, noting that Professor Candy wasn't there. In fact, she was absent for the first ten minutes of class. When she did arrive in the classroom she looked quite flustered and her face was flushed. "Sorry I'm late!"

They all straightened up and sat at attention. Despite her somewhat flaky personality, she was still the best teacher they'd had in years. "I've been informed you've had some kind of-of body switch?" The nodded. "Does anyone want to share an exciting experience you've had with the class? No one? Alright, then we're going to play a quick game.

"Partner up with someone please, yes very good." Hermione nodded to Pansy, who had tugged on her elbow. "Now tell this person something about the person you are right now you didn't know before. You can't comment on what the person said to you, it would just waste time. We'll move through the class and maybe you'll learn something new about everyone!"

Hermione sighed and turned to face Pansy. This whole exercise seemed rather pointless. "I didn't know you two had such a complex relationship."

"Oh," Pansy said, looking worried. "Well…I'm myself."

"Switch!"

"I thought it was more complex with you two." She said to Harry. To Blaise it was, "I didn't know he thought so highly of you."

As she moved through the class she said, "I didn't know I would understand and not understand him so much at the same time."

As she moved closer to Draco she began to panic. What was she supposed to say? What had been saying about her? Surely something more personal was in order, since they were the ones who switched… But as she finally stood across from him, her heart beating madly (Draco really had to get over this anxiety of confronting her) the words just flowed from her lips. "I didn't know you cared to the extent you seem to."

He looked at her unblinkingly, "neither did I."

"Okay," Candy clapped her hands together. "Take your seats please!"

They moved back to their seats, some awkwardly and some very confidently. "We've worked on practical dueling for awhile now," they nodded enthusiastically. "And I will set a date for our big test where you will face off one of one with your opponent. But for now, we're going to look at the non-practical side. I know it's a drag, but you learn some pretty useful things. Turn to page three hundred thirty seven and Miss Turpin, will you please read…"

-

By lunchtime Hermione was so caught up in the working of Draco Malfoy's mind she barely noticed when Harry tried to get her attention. "Hermione!"

"Hmm?" She turned to him, a brilliant smile on her face.

He shuddered and looked away, "if Malfoy ever looked at me like that…"

She sighed, "when are you and Ron going to get over this stupid feud you have going on with him?"

"When are you going to realize that up until recently, you were involved in that stupid feud too, and something obviously wrong has made you change your mind about him. He's still the same, conniving, manipulative prat he always has been." Harry had abandoned his food and was now staring intently at Hermione.

"You don't know him," she hissed, very aware that Draco was probably listening.

"And you do?"

"No, I don't. But I know him a lot better then you ever have."

"Think about it, Hermione!" Harry said furiously, "he could be playing you. This could all just be an act, as soon as this assignment is over he'll go back to the way he was and have a nice little laugh about how he managed to trick you into thinking he'd changed!"

At first she actually believed him and felt like someone had dumped a bucket of icy water on her head. But then she realized that it couldn't be. There was too much human emotion involved for it to be fake, because as much as people tried, they can't replicate sincere emotions if you don't feel anything.

"One of your problems is you can't let go. You can't accept that someone might have changed, you always have to find ways to prove to yourself that things are exactly the same as they've always been. What is wrong with accepting the fact that he's different now, that he's not as horrible as we think?"

Harry stared at her, trying to control his temper. She was very grateful for this, because is 'Blaise Zabini' stood up and started shouting like a maniac about Hermione and Draco, it might attract some suspicion. "It's _Malfoy._"

"I know." She said, sensing that their conversation was coming to a fast close. "But…that's why I like him. We're friends."

She felt herself almost blushing as she felt the two Draco stiffen beside her and watched Harry tense in front of her for. Hurriedly she changed the topic, "what's it like, being Blaise?"

"Different. Completely and utterly different." He said, a bit stiffly, and looked over at Blaise.

"I see," she lied, "what was that fight you two had about?"

"What fight?" He asked, "_that_ fight? Nothing, it, er, isn't important."

"Of course, it didn't sound like anything." She said sarcastically. He shrugged and stared away from her, picking up a sandwich. "I suppose we should be getting to class, then. Bye, Harry."

He didn't reply and she looked behind her as she stood up, trying to find what he was staring at. It was either a group of third year Slytherins or a blonde and brunette pair of Ravenclaws. "What are you looking at?"

He blushed and looked away. "We really should be getting to class. See you."

"Yeah." She watched him walk away and turned to Draco. "Is it just me, or is Harry acting really skittish?"

Draco looked at her, blushed and turned away. "I, erm, hadn't noticed."

They stood up and for what felt like the millionth time that day she sighed. Pansy was herself and was acting very cheery. Harry and Blaise were both acting awkward and tense and were fighting about something neither would talk about. Draco knew everything she hadn't removed from her mind and how she felt about certain people. Plus, he was acting very strange and refused to meet her eyes half the time. Add a load of frustrating realizations on her part, most of which were about her and Draco and involved their confusing relationship, and you had one hell of a few days.

But they did _not_ have serious relationship issues.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. It feels like it's been forever. I'm in a rush to get this up right now, so check out my profile really quick and read the small little thing from November 20****th**** at the top for more information… Anything else? Don't think so…**

**If you've read the House of Hell please vote in the poll I have! If you haven't, read HOH and then vote! XD.**

**Thanks for the great feedback on the last chapter! **

**Oh, and just to let everyone know if there's another period of time where it takes this long to update (its been thirty days) I'll probably have written something about it in my profile so make sure to do a quick scan of it! I might also do a few polls for this story and stuff, or write anything that I find might interest you guys in there. Try checking it every time I update or something along those lines, it will work as a better communication method then author's notes, plus you can simple PM me in regards to anything in it. Easy, easy, easy! I apologize, once again!**

**Please…**

**Review review review!**

**By the way, was this chapter longer then usual?**


	24. Ah, The Memories

**Oh, and more then ¾ of this was done past 1:00 AM, because I'm quite serious when I say I've pretty much become nocturnal. I usually fall asleep around 4:30 AM and then wake up at 12. Also, halfway through this was New Years. So half of it was done last year. **

**Happy New Years! I hope 2008 is your best year to date. That sounded weird. Oh well.**

**Author's Note: I'm very aware that Seamus has had a personality change, I find that my characterization of him earlier is horrible, but I can't change it because I'd have to change a bunch of other stuff to go along with it, so I made the excuse he's different when he's single. XD. Oh, and they actually did break up about two weeks, because it was the day before the sleepover, which was Sunday because the game was Saturday, then there was the silent week to the next potion, then the next week to Friday, which it is in the story. So it is pretty much nearly two weeks. Just for a reference.**

**Hermione description of Draco's feelings is probably slightly different from the way she described other people's emotions, sorry about that! **

**I am attempting Hagrid. Just to warn you. The voice—probably not very good.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

Friday morning Hermione awoke to find Hogwarts buried under several feet of snow. With an annoyed sigh she climbed out of bed, this was _not _a good start to the day. Snow made it harder to walk in the grounds and her robes got wet. It got in her hair, which made a wet, cold mess. Flying was almost a chore because certain parts (Hermione flushed at this thought) froze quite painfully.

Thankfully, there had been no nightmares the previous night. She'd fallen asleep quite quickly, and had only had a very vivid dream. She tried to remember it, but found she was only certain that she'd been in it. Whether it was her or Draco's dream, she wasn't sure.

"Good morning." She smiled cheerfully at Draco on the way to the bathroom and he grunted in response, throwing himself on the couch. They'd decided to have Draco shower in the evening and Hermione in the morning earlier in the year, so they'd decided to leave it that way even with the switch.

This time she was able to clean herself without any unwanted-_they were definitely unwanted-_glimpses of Draco's body.

"You styled my hair wrong." Draco said as she emerged from the bathroom. "Honestly."

She shrugged, but the Draco in her made her hand go up and run through the silky tresses there. He stood and began fixing it, "fine. No looking this time, I hope?"

She nearly flushed, "no. You didn't last night, I hope?"

"As shocking as this may be, I do not stare at you while I shower. Sorry to disappoint." If the conversation hadn't been so weird, she would have laughed at the thought of someone who had no idea what had happened listening.

"It was accidental. I fell."

"Mmmhhm. Why'd you fall?"

"I was thinking about something! _You _startled me." It was then that she realized she'd been thinking about looking.

"What were you thinking about?" He stepped back and nodded approvingly at his handiwork.

"Does it matter?"

He smirked, "whatever you tell yourself."

"I don't talk to myself, sorry. I guess you're the only one." She said and snatched her bag up from beside the couch.

He chuckled and didn't continue with their verbal sparring. "I always appreciated your quick tongue. Made things more interesting."

She was very pleased with this, but she couldn't place why. _Well he rarely compliments anyone, let alone me. _Satisfied with this conclusion she smiled at him and they walked to the Great Hall together.

-

-

During Transfiguration, Hermione found it very hard to concentrate. It wasn't because she didn't understand, she'd read an entire book on this subject and could quote it exactly. It was because she was anxious about going back to her own body. Honestly, she'd gotten so used to knowing Draco's reactions to situations that the idea of not being able to wasn't a pleasant one.

"Mr Malfoy?" Professor McGonagall's voice fell on deaf ears. It wasn't until Draco nudged her that she realized she was being addressed.

"Yes?"

"I asked a question." Their teacher looked annoyed.

"Oh…erm…could you repeat it?" The expression on everyone's faces suggested this was not the first time it would be repeated.

"Pay attention, Ms Granger, correct?" As if she could forget it was Hermione partnered with him, she was the whole reason they had the assignment. "Three points from Gryffindor." She turned away and continued the lesson. Draco pushed a note over the desk so it rested in front of her.

_What's got your knickers in a twist?_

_The switch._

_We get to go back today._

_Exactly._

_Going to miss staring at my nakedness?_

Instead of blushing (as much as she could muster as Draco) she laughed softly.

_Especially that._

She sent it over and watched his reaction carefully, suddenly it was much more important then any lesson Professor McGonagall would ever teach. He smiled slightly and scribbled something down.

_So you're lusting after my body? And here I thought you were madly in love with me. The disappointment…its killing me.._

Se read it and laughed out loud, which was rather unfortunate. She had only enough time to wonder if he really did feel any disappointed, despite the fact that it was entirely untrue that she was lusting after him. _Uh oh._ The whole class had turned to look at her curiously.

"Ms Granger?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking." She said quickly.

"About what, pray tell."

"Something that happened." She said as Professor McGonagall advanced.

"I'm sure the class would love to hear about it." She looked quite menacing and Hermione got the impression that their teacher was more then a little annoyed with her.

"Funny story, actually." She said and laughed nervously. "I was thinking about how I actually have a history of knowing Mr LeBlanc."

"This was cause for amusement?"

"I was laughing at the irony?" She suggested meekly as Professor McGonagall's eyes fell upon the note.

"What is this?" She swooped in and picked it up, "I'm sure the class would love to hear your little conversation. Shall we?"

The class sat up a bit straighter, always eager to hear the notes passed by the unfortunate people who dared pass them in front of Professor McGonagall.

"'_What's got your knickers in a twist_?' My my, Mr Malfoy your concern is astonishing. '_The Switch_.' '_But_ _we get to go back today_.' '_Exactly_.' Enjoying being Mr Malfoy, are we? '_Going to miss staring at my nakedness_?'" Eyes flew from Hermione to Draco back to Hermione. "'Especially_ that_.' Aren't we the pleasant couple." She looked between them for a few seconds and went back to reading. "'_So you're lusting after my body? And here I thought you were madly in love with me. The disappointment I feel is painful.' _The poor, delusional boy. Miss Granger, how do you live with yourself? And," their teacher, whom Hermione had begun to greatly dislike that lesson, looked down at the note. "No reply? Well the class is dying to hear your response," nearly everyone was leaning forward and watching her, "you simply must tell us your answer so we can stop wasting so much class time."

"I…erm…"

"Well?"

Putting on her brave face she said, "er, well of course I love you, Malfoy. I thought we'd already established that. As for the lusting part," she gulped, "its not my fault you're damn sexy."

Someone wolf whistled and she turned her slightly flushed face to the desk. In her defense, it wasn't really her fault. Draco was much more outgoing and cheeky then her, and it had been mostly him that evoked that response, even though it was about him. If that made any sense.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for interrupting and wasting class time. Oh, and twenty points from Slytherin for being so 'damn sexy' you were a distraction.

Hermione was silent for the rest of class as she wallowed in self embarrassment.

-

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione. You really should hold you tongue." Gregory Goyle threw his arm around her shoulders and a grinning Melissa Moon walked beside him.

"You are…?"

"Seamus," Seamus grinned, "and Dean." He wasn't at all awkward about having broken up with her two weeks ago. "That was quite a line you said in there. It was touching." He was different when he wasn't involved with someone. He was more hyper and talkative.

"I didn't mean to say it. It's probably because Malfoy's in me right now." The two boys sniggered at her last comment and she rolled her eyes. "I meant his-" They kept at it and she let out an exasperated sigh, "Honestly, you two are so immature."

Dean shrugged, grinning. "It's his fault. He's a bad influence on me."

Seamus chuckled, "very true. Anyway, we were just discussing something quite interesting."

"That would be?" She slipped out of Seamus's arm. People were giving them weird looks because Gregory didn't usually lead Draco around the school, followed by Melissa.

"Your very flirtatious note to Malfoy."

"Excuse me!" She exclaimed, "one, I do not flirt with Malfoy. Two, I do not send flirtatious notes to Malfoy. Three, why would I flirt with Malfoy? Four, I did not initiate the note. He did."

"Hmm. Then what was it? If not a flirtatious note a cry for help? Some favors? Some _sexual _favors?" Seamus waggled his eyebrows at her and Dean snickered.

"I do not flirt with him. Especially not while he's in _my _body." (They chuckled again at that). "Imagine kissing yourself!"

"Not even he," Dean patted Seamus's shoulder, "is that perverted."

"Though I have to admit, I am drop dead sexy." He flashed her a smile. To her delight, she didn't feel any sort of pain or happiness associated with it. She was officially over him.

"Delusional," she said in a sing song voice. Seamus pouted and stuck out his tongue.

"What was that nice little comment about his nakedness? Taking advantage of his body, are you? I never thought you had it in you." Dean winked at her and Seamus let out a bark of laughter, which sounded quite weird since he 'was' Greg.

"It was an accident!" Upon seeing their slightly surprised and smirking faces, she continued morosely. "Don't ask. Long story."

"Mmhmm." Dean said, forcing himself not to laugh and failing miserably.

"I've got to go to Arithmancy, I'll see you two later." She waved them away and they rejoined their partners as Draco sped up to walk beside her.

"What did they want?"

"They were asking about my 'flirtatious note' to you." She said and let out a harassed huff.

"Oh," he sounded slightly relieved and she looked over at him curiously.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just thought maybe he wanted to get back together with you." She didn't wonder how he knew that it was really Seamus in there, because what he'd said was far more important.

"That would bother you? Why?"

"I don't know." They sat down in their next classroom. "Would you, though? Get back with him if he asked?"

She paused in the process of unloading her bag. "He wouldn't. But I don't feel those things for him anymore. So no."

"Oh." He tried not to be relieved and found it impossible.

"Why? Do you think I've such a pathetic will that I would just go back to him at his first request?" She changed her tone to amused halfway through, but noticed Draco stiffen.

"You cried."

"So?" She said, trying to lighten the mood of the conversation and failing.

"Obviously you cared enough about him to cry. I know you, Granger. You don't cry over just anyone."

"I've cried over you." She pointed out, her voice tight. Professor Vector began his lecture and she dropped the volume.

"Oh," he laughed bitterly, "are you saying I'm just anyone now? Or have I always been just anyone?"

"Stop being a prat!" She hissed, "of course you're not. Will you quite trying to make me say you mean nothing so you can go back to the little world you used to live in where you and I could never get along? Stop trying to keep yourself from feeling something for someone other then yourself."

He forced himself to frown, refusing to admit how close to home she'd struck. "You don't know what you're talking about, Granger."

"I understand you more then you think." She shot back, slamming her book on the desk and opening it.

"Is there a problem?" Professor Vector turned to her and she smiled innocently.

"Of course not, Professor. Malfoy was just inquiring about our essays, you see he wondered if they were all supposed to be the length of mine. I assured him that I had gotten a bit carried away." She flashed him another smile and wrote her name down a piece of parchment while he went back to his lecture.

"Why do we always fight over the most insignificant things?" He asked her quietly.

"We have a weird relationship, Malfoy. It's confusing and we try to make sense of it by fighting, because it's something we're used to." She replied after a minute, realizing that this was probably true.

"I suppose." He said, "I don't like it."

"Me neither." She agreed and turned her attention back to the teacher, whom she realized was looking at her, nonplussed.

"Whatever you two are discussing can be finished later. Detention. See me after the class has been dismissed."

They were silent for the rest of the period.

-

"Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy?" Professor Snape raised his eyebrows at them as they dashed into the classroom, late.

"Sorry Professor," she gasped out, "we were talking to Professor Vector."

"About detention." Draco added, noting uncomfortably that Professor Snape did not look happy to see him. At all.

"Ten points from Gryffindor and," he scowled, "ten from Slytherin. Now sit down and quit wasting time.

"As I was saying, we have visitor. Mr LeBlanc is a representative of the Ministry, and will be observing this class, amid others, for several weeks. There is no need for you to give him a full demonstration of how incapable you are in the art of potion making, so pay more attention.

"Today we will be brewing a potion which allows you to have intercourse without any form of protection, and makes sexually transmitted diseases or infections much more difficult to get. It would not do to engage in sexual activity and have any unwanted offspring," He looked around at them all and sneered, silently informing them all that the planet would be far better off without any of their children. "Madame Pomfrey keeps a stock of them in the Hospital Wing for those who require it." He flicked his wand at the board and then opened the supply cupboard with a wave. "The ones which are deemed satisfactory-"

"Will _you _be testing them, Professor?" Seamus called out, smirking.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr Finnegan" their teacher said without missing a beat (they were at a loss at how he knew it was Seamus, how did the teachers do it?), "-will be sent for use. I am checking a potion in my office, it is in the final stages of brewing and is in a constant need of attention. There will not be a day when most people in this class can brew a Polyjuice Potion correctly."

He swept from the room without another word and there was a flurry of activity as people set about brewing the potion. Hermione felt someone's eyes on her and raised a hand to rub her neck, flashing a thumbs up to them.

-

With the exception of two potions, all were done correctly and Hermione found this quite amusing. Professor Snape made a comment about the 'hormonal driven miscreants' they were and dismissed them.

"No more class." Draco sighed as they left the classroom.

"I'm glad," her stomach rumbled, "are you _always _this hungry?"

"I usually eat more then you do, but I would prefer you didn't try. Your manners are atrocious."

"They are not atrocious." She protested and put a hand on her stomach as it growled again. Draco's lean muscles, taut under her hand, flexed as she tensed and she flushed, looking away so he didn't see.

As she'd expected, the Sixth Years all looked quite relieved as they ate, stealing last glances at their bodies so they could remember what they looked like from an outsiders point of view, and perhaps to figure out how their partner felt about them. She glanced over at Draco, wondering if this was her only chance to find out his honest opinion of her.

_You're being stupid._ Her eating slowed as she realized she thought he might feel something for her that was…not platonic? Even if he did, which he didn't, wouldn't it be better just to know? Yes. It would. But she highly doubted he would, so there really was nothing to be afraid of. Or maybe she afraid of finding out he still despised her with every fiber of his being.

She'd known for the six years that he hated her, it wouldn't be that big a deal if she found out again. Except that it _would_ be a big deal, because she didn't hate him anymore. Why was that, anyway? It shouldn't be that easy to forget the past, to forget everything he'd done. For six years, _six years_ of her life, he'd been the one person she would be glad to never see again. And now…she couldn't possibly be willing to let it go and pursue a friendship with him. Well, it was too late now. For her, maybe not for him. If he still did have a large amount of negative feelings for her, it would make it easier to go back to the way it had been for those six years.

She settled herself back in her chair, holding her body in her vision and not turning away after a few seconds, long enough to let emotions take hold of her.

Affection.

Draco liked being with her, she wasn't as annoying as he'd always made her out to be. She had a pretty good sense of humor, was passionate about things she cared for like her friends, family, her academics, rights… She cared about a great many things, even that demon cat of hers that he was not fond of at all.

Confusion.

She'd been acting strange recently, and their relationship was so different now then it had ever been before. He thought it was good, but then they had fights that were much worse then before as well. Like there was something more at stake, which he supposed there was. Their fights were intense and seemed like such insignificant things. The last one they'd had had started with her accidentally saying his name out loud and then denying she would ever think of him. Pretty stupid, if you thought about it, but it had still started their worst fight. And yet they were still friends, even if it was on incredibly shaky ground.

Longing.

Not for her specifically. Longing to tell her everything, to not keep any secrets no matter how dangerous it would be. He wanted to understand her, so he wouldn't be caught off guard when she became defensive over something ridiculous. Her companionship was another thing he longed for even though he knew they probably wouldn't be able to even associate after this assignment was over, whenever it was. He didn't want to go back to the way it was, he didn't think he could.

Regret.

For the way it used to be, and that she would never fully understand _why_. A lot of people had put his behavior down to his father, but honestly it had very little to do with his father. He made his own decisions, and while his father had harmed him physically before, perhaps three times in his life, it was understandable. Lucius Malfoy lost control when he got scared, and it was easiest to gain control over Draco. The occasional lash with his snake headed staff was all, Hermione had been witness to the worst one which had resulted in scars. But they grew up differently, that was the root of it.

Sadness.

How different _were _they? Too different to be friends? Maybe they would just tire of each other's company eventually and just sink back to their old habits. He knew that unless he was forced, he wasn't going to do that. He cared about her, damnit!

Protectiveness.

If anyone ever tried to hurt her, he would beat them to a bloody bulb. Screw magic, maybe the muggles were onto something! He wasn't quite sure when he'd become so protective, but it didn't matter so much anymore as to _when_. More like _how_.

Annoyance.

She was so frustrating he wished he could never speak to her again, sometimes. She had the most annoying ability of pinpointing his weaknesses and understanding his feelings that no one else could do. Her, of all people! The person he'd hated for six years! She made him act differently then he was supposed to. She could make him do and say things without meaning to, or forcing it out of him with words alone. Especially when she re-worded things he'd said, or said something snappy back before he'd had a chance to bask in the satisfaction of pulling one over Hermione Granger. But then, her quick wits were part of why he liked her…

Back to affection.

Feeling heartened, she'd looked down and her plate and smiled. _Oh, Draco. _

"Granger! For the last time its time to leave, stop grinning like a fool and stand up before someone thinks I've gone insane."

She jerked her head up, having forgotten that he was still with her. "Sorry."

"What were you doing?"

"Thinking," she replied and fell into step with him.

"About…?" He gave her time to answer and when she didn't he repeated the question. "What were you thinking about?"

"You," she said blandly and glared as Seamus and Dean smirked and sniggered, jerking their heads at Draco.

"What's wrong with them?"

"They're just being stupid," she said easily, "nothing new."

"I don't know what you saw in him." He frowned, "actually that's probably a good thing."

"It is." She assured him as they turned a corner and parted from the large crowd they'd been in. "I meant to ask, but I didn't. How did you sleep last night?"

"Fine." He shrugged in a non-committed fashion. "One strange and confusing dreams about various teachers and a few students telling me that I failed, where I began to cry quite pitifully and then look for Potter and Weasley, where they turned me away and told me they couldn't trust me anymore and then I began looking for myself, and when I couldn't find me I began to cry harder and fall to the floor, dead in a flash of green light."

"I thought you said you slept fine." She glared at him, "you should tell me about these things. Did it occur to you that they might be important for me to know?"

"Do you honestly think that if you fail exams people will shun and then kill you?" He looked amused in a very irritating way.

"No." She said, "that's not it."

There was a pause and then she continued, "do you want to walk around the lake?"

"Sure. Why do you love snow so much?"

"Why do you hate it so much? Oh yeah," she laughed. "Because it ruins your hair?"

"Shut up." He said but couldn't conceal a smile. "Let's go back and bundle up, it must have dropped twenty degrees overnight."

"Sure."

-

Twenty minutes later they were outside and walking across the grounds with snow crunching underfoot. The trees glittered beautifully with frozen ice and icicles hanging from the branches. Hagrid's cabin had a pathway cleared to the door, which she assumed Hagrid had made. With a flash of guilt she realized she had visited him in a long while.

"Hermione!"

They turned to see Hagrid -speak of the devil and the devil appears- lumbering through the snow, clearing a meter radius around him. "Hello Hagrid!"

"Righ'! Albus told me 'bout yer switch." He looked at her closely, finding it strange that Draco's features were arranged in a pleasant smile.

"Did he? How interesting." Draco said boredly, raising an eyebrow at Hagrid.

"How're ye holdin' up?" He ignored Draco and looked instead at Hermione.

"Oh, it's not really so horrible. It was at first, but now it's not so bad." She said brightly and her large friend smiled.

"I'm glad."

"How are classes going?"

"Good. Got some Blast Ended Skrewts for the Fifth Years. 'Aught to be fun."

"We did love them so much." Draco said sarcastically, which was missed by the half giant.

"Really? I always thought the Slytherins didn'."

"We did."

Hagrid looked heartened and Hermione did have the heart to tell him he was lying. "I'd invite ye round for tea but I've got a lesson next."

"Don't worry about it," she said, "we were just going on a walk."

"Was good talkin' to ye." Hermione smiled cheerfully and he put a hand on her shoulder before she could leave. "Hermione," she turned back and he spoke in a low voice. "He's still a Malfoy."

She felt a bit insulted. "Just because he has his family's name does not make him his family."

"Jus' be careful."

"I will. Thanks." She hugged him tightly and turned to catch up with Draco, who had realized she wasn't with him and stopped. Whatever Hagrid had been asking wasn't for his ears. That wouldn't prevent him from asking, of course.

"What did he want?"

"Honestly?" She asked, wrapping her Slytherin scarf around her neck. "He told me to be careful because you're still a Malfoy."

"Oh, what did you say?" He asked, watching as his breath turned into an icy cloud in front of him.

"I said that just because you have your family's name, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll turn out like them." She said and smiled faintly. "You still make your own choices, Malfoy. They don't control you. I'm sure they'd like to, and could probably convince you that they do, but it's because you let them."

He didn't answer for a long while. "One thing you don't understand is that I was raised believing that muggles and muggleborns were inferior. To me it was fact. You can't change belief overnight. It would be like asking muggles to stop believing in God."

"I suppose. But if you make the right choices, you'll realize that your ideals are flawed."

"That's what you don't understand. Try telling Catholics that the Mormons are right and their ideals are flawed. They believe in what they believe in, to them they are not flawed."

"But you believe in killing muggleborns so a sadistic manipulator can take over the world and treat you all like slaves." She said stubbornly, refusing to believe on any level that they could possibly believe their way was right.

"I never said that I believed in _him_, all I've ever really wanted was for muggleborns not to come into our world and destroy it."

"I'm destroying your world, am I?"

"Granger what is your goddamn problem? If you ever want to have a mature discussion about this where you don't refuse to try and understand what I'm talking about or even accept that people think that way, let me know. For now, lets not talk about it." He didn't look angry, merely like he had expecting her to act like that and it annoyed her.

She didn't say anything for the next few minutes and they both looked out over the lake.

"How's Potter?"

"Fine, I suppose. I haven't really spoken to him in awhile. I feel like I haven't spoken to Ron in forever." She sighed and shoved her hands deeper in her pockets. "I don't like being away from Gryffindor. It's strange, coming into a quiet Common Room where I expect to see First Years stressing over trying to learn spells, or Fourth Years awkwardly trying to get each other's attention."

"I miss it too." He said in reference to the Slytherin Common Room, but did not say more on the subject.

"How is Blaise?"

"I really don't know. He looks like hell, it makes Potter look dead. Do you know why they were fighting?"

"No." She sighed and they began walking again. "It seemed serious."

"It's obviously about Blaise, about Potter knowing something about him?" He guessed and grabbed her arm as she stumbled.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly and he released after another second or so. "Blaise is your friend, right? What could he be hiding?"

"I don't know."

She nodded and changed the topic. "I wonder what we'll be doing in detention."

"Hopefully nothing like the last time we had it." The both thought of their disastrous detention with Professor McGonagall. "At least we know what to do if it happens."

"Get me to save you? Nice strategy." She smirked and then began to wonder what had become of the orb she-_Draco_-had used to save them. _So that's what he did._

"Basically." He said, and thought back to his last detention with Professor Vector. "He made me write lines."

"That's not so bad. What did you have to write?"

"'I will not use disgusting and extremely insulting language to provoke a reaction from my peers and/or purposely disrupt the class to the brink of chaos to satiate my attention craving mind.'" He snickered at the memory and she laughed.

"When did you do that?"

"You were in the Hospital Wing." He said shortly and there was an awkward pause.

"It's a pity I have to sit for a few hours and watch you write." Professor Vector had, rather unfairly, decided that Hermione could write lines because she had been the problem and Draco would merely have to present for it. This idea was sort of embarrassing, who wanted Draco Malfoy to stare at them all day? But then, she supposed he would bring a book or homework to do while she wrote.

"You do realize that before I was stuck with you, I never got detention. Its all your fault." She felt a bit miserable as she thought about that.

Draco shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Hmmpf!" She huffed, "you are _impossible_!"

"Thanks."

She deflated as he shot her a smirk. The same smirk that used to get under her skin and ignite her loathing and give her the urge to hex him until he couldn't walk. "A lot has happened since we were partnered. First you pushed me into Devil's Snare and you were blinded-"

"At least I jumped in after you."

She nodded reluctantly. "And then I brewed the potion to fix your eyes. After that- no it was before that that I was a slut." She gulped, not particularly fond of those memories. "I cannot believe the teachers allowed that! Then we got detention because I was so tense and you pushed me over the edge."

"Right." He had the grace to look guilty, "sorry about that."

She shrugged it off. "Then we both got completely drunk and made fools of ourselves. Not to mention that the stupid portrait-"

"Chester, was it? Yeah, ratted us out." Draco finished, "what happened to him, anyway?"

"He's probably in other people's dormitories." She said and paused to think. "Then we did that horrible movie, right? It was so dull and the plot was unrealistic and quite cliché, no originality at all! The characters were complete wimps, and why were you supposed to carry a sword around anyway?"

Draco nodded, thinking about the scene where he had to act like a loser because the dragon had killed him. "And those 'special features' things they decided to include! Absolutely ridiculous."

"Yeah!" She nodded vigorously.

"That woman was off her rocker." Draco finished. "Then there was that Potions lesson where you were given a poison and I inhaled fumes of it… Not to mention everyone seemed to be under the impression you were going to die. Madame Pomfrey said there was a very slight chance you would die.--"

Hermione nodded, her eyes shining. "And we went outside in that thunderstorm…"

"You told me about your relationship with Mathew around there."

"Oh right. I remember because that was before my first fight with Seamus." She nodded, finding it amusing that their first fight had been about the state of Ginny and Dean's relationship because of Harry. "Then we had to find a way to work out my fear of heights."

"We spent all of lunch reading in the library, right? And then during practice I set that bludger on you." He grinned, "you scared the hell out of me."

"I'm honored." She smiled back at him. "Then that weird girl -Allie or something?- put up those pictures all over the school-"

"-and I beat the shit out of Finnegan. Ah, the memories."

"That wasn't funny." She glared at him. "It was over a _hairclip_."

He shrugged. "It was over more then a hairclip to us."

"Hmm." She tried to think of what had come after that. "We had those mock duels in class and someone stabbed me, right? Then you completely crushed Pansy by rejecting her in the cruelest way possible."

"It's complicated!" He snapped, "and I did not _'completely reject her._'"

"Well that explains why she was sobbing her heart out into her pillow." She said sarcastically and changed the topic. It was better to avoid the conversations where they would end up arguing. "The potion wore off you after that, right? Yeah, and then we…went flying. I remember because we got there early, before the practice. No wait, was that before or after Pansy?"

"Before," he said, "the game was the next morning and Pansy wouldn't speak to me and was using you as an excuse-"

"I almost threw up when I saw the Quidditch Pitch! I was so scared. Your cologne was the only thing that got me through." She chuckled and he ducked his head to hide his blush.

"Really?"

"Yes." She said and they looked away from each other. "Then that weird little kid came and told us she was responsible for the pictures and all that."

"Yeah. Then…then there was Matt."

"Yeah," he nodded. "Then there was Matt, who turned out to be a veela."

"Seamus broke up with me-"

"You invited all those girls over-"

"I actually didn't invite them. Ginny arranged it all." She sighed and then laughed, but sobered up quickly when she realized what had happened after that. "And then we had that fight…"

"Look about that-" Draco began but Hermione interrupted him.

"I'd rather you apologized in your own body, if you're going to at all. I don't want myself to influence your decision."

"Okay." He agreed, making note to apologize the minute he was a 'whole' person. "Much fighting later and we're here. You know we could always call a…a truce."

"We already sort of made a truce to be pleasant to each other, and it hasn't worked." She laughed lightly. "I don't want to get along because of a truce. I just want to be friends, not two people stuck in a mutual agreement not to fight because both our prides are too big to allow the other any sort of satisfaction at letting the other person win."

Draco laughed and she felt pleased. "You've got us down to a thread."

_Us._

"And then we're here."

"Yes," she nodded, "then we're here."

And for the moment, they were both perfectly content to be there.

(Except that part of their minds were somewhere else and they were currently super aware of each other and their feelings. And they still fought ferociously and would in fact, begin another argument in a few minutes when Draco would say, 'ugh, _Snape_?' and they would proceed to fight over why Hannah could possible find him sexy (an oops on Hermione's part) even though they were both arguing the same point and thought it was repulsive. They were both aware that there would be much hurting each other in the future and lot of second guessing, awkward pausing and annoyed sarcasm which would cause quite a bit of confusion and frustration on both parts).

Hell, they weren't content at _all_.

**Author's Note: I finished writing this chapter at 1:43 in the morning. XD. Hmm. Interesting. My sister was talking to me about 'dental floss flashing in my eyes' and ha-ha she hit her head on the wall. XD. I was really thirsty. I braved the dark in my over a century year old house and crept down the creak stairs into the kitchen to get a drink. XD.**

**In regards to the -- I said I did some editing, and when I went back there wasn't a high chance Hermione was going to die from the side effect stuff. Just so you know.**

**EXAMS! In, like, two weeks two of my exams will be over. Dun dun duuunn. **

**Hey, remember way back when to the chapter titled 'Fate Tempted'? Well I told you there was corresponding chapter that goes with it titled 'Tempted Fate.' It's drawing nearer. Maybe in the next three chapters.**

**Well I've got to go write the next chapter for HOH so I can send it over to my beta and hopefully post it before exams because next weekend I really won't have time**

–**sighs- Well I've chosen th song for my vocal exam. My solo. I was going to do another one, but we could get the music so now I'm doing Tear Drops on My Guitar by Taylor Swift. Ye-AH. XD.**

**Review review review!**


	25. To Be A Friend

**Author's Note: First things first, I AM DONE MY EXAMS! It's excellent. XD. I think the word excellent will be forever stuck in my head now, what with all the volunteering with little kids and encouraging them with words just like excellent. Oh, and also Buddy. Variations, too. Bud, Buddy same thing… I actually called my dad bud by mistake yesterday. XD.**

**Author's Note: I'm sick. Ugh. I feel like crap, coughing, sneezing, weezing and I sound super congested when I talk.**

**NOTE: 'Allure' I picked this word up from Veela fics, it's the power they can turn on and off to attract people to them.**

**Disclaimer: I swear to god, its getting REALLY annoying to write, every single chapter, that I don't own Harry Potter. Honestly, how stupid are people that they need to hear it every chapter? Does anyone even READ them anymore? Oh, and for the record I don't own ANYTHING from Pirates of the Caribbean either, because Hermione says something which you MIGHT catch that Elizabeth says.**

"It still feels weird, going up to my new Common Room after classes are over and sleeping in my own room. I'm actually starting to miss Lavender and Parvati and their giggling over Witch Weekly magazines." Hermione said and sighed, falling into step with Ron.

"Yeah, but it isn't so bad I suppose. For me, anyway. Morag is a good guy… just…"

She nodded, "I know what you mean. It's not the same."

Draco and Hermione had been walking back to their dormitories at around 3:30 when she'd seen Ron and Morag walking as well. Seizing this opportunity to talk to her best friend, she'd called his name and hurried over to join him. Draco had looked rather annoyed and glared more heatedly at the red head then was usual before reluctantly walking beside Morag.

"How is Harry?"

"Honestly? Something is wrong." She hurried on when she saw the expression on his face, "Not anything with the Order. He and Blaise are fighting."

"Zabini? I never really liked him. Slytherin, dark and sends chilly glares, right?" He frowned and looked over at Morag, who was laughing at a Third Year girl who had fallen to the ground. "Great guy, really. Just laughs at everything."

"Hmm." She murmured and watched as he doubled over with laughter while the girl looked scandalized. "You're friends right? You get along?"

"Yeah, but he's not the same as Harry and you." He grinned at her and she nodded in agreement.

"Did you see that?" Morag was still laughing and poked Draco, who looked disgusted.

"Yes, yes I did. Now take your grubby hand off me and leave me alone." Draco said sourly. "It really wasn't that amusi-"

Hermione felt several feelings at once. She lost her vision and lost her sense of perception. She felt something slam into her mind and something detach at the same second, strong and yet barely detectable. Feelings rushed to fill her entire body and in the course of a millisecond she felt every emotion flash through her that she'd ever felt. It was so overwhelming that she fell the floor, the bodies of her friends fell around her. Then she lost consciousness.

"Granger! Hurry up and stand, before someone else comes along." Draco's voice said urgently, and she felt a thrill shoot through her as she _heard _it.

Relief filled her with energy and she sat up quickly, beaming. The sight of Draco standing in front of her made a cry of delight leave her lips and she leapt to her feet. He smiled at her, truly and genuinely smiled, and she threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. "Oh good! We're back!"

"We didn't go camping, Granger." He said dryly, returning the embrace loosely and feeling a slight blush don his cheeks.

"I know but I feel so-so _whole_." She let him go, trying not to feel sorry for this loss of contact, and turned to Ron. How wonderful it was to address him in his own body! "This is wonderful!"

He was grinning, though it looked rather strained as he thought over the exchange he'd just witnessed between his best friend and his enemy. "I'm glad to be myself again."

"Me too." Morag said, still chuckling.

"Hermione," Ron pulled her aside abruptly, it seemed he had been trying not to and failed. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That hug. With Malfoy." He said, glaring at Draco over her shoulder.

"It was just as you said. A hug. With Malfoy." She said smoothly. "Don't worry, Ron. I know what I'm doing."

He looked at her for a long moment and then shook his head. "Has Harry heard from the Order?"

"No, they don't seem to want us to be kept informed." She'd noticed that despite this mission, for lack of a better word, with Draco she was doing (although she was basically letting things happen on their own now) the Order had been keeping quiet about everything going on.

"How are we supposed to prepare for something-not that we know what He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's next move is- if we don't know a _thing _that is going on?" He grumbled, ruffling his hair. "Usually we know something's up because we get clues at school. It's been too silent."

"The Daily Prophet hasn't been reporting too much anymore, either. In fact," she said thoughtfully, "I haven't read about an attack in a long while. It's as though they're waiting for something."

Ron looked worried and glanced over at Draco, who was leaning casually against the wall and ignoring all of Morag's chattering. "In preparation for something? Or maybe they just want us to let our guards down."

"It seems to me that anyone in the outside world would merely become tenser, not assume the threat was over." She said and then realized what exactly she had said. Gasping, she began to speak again. "Oh _no_. You don't think- not _here_! They wouldn't dare attack Hogwarts, would they? Why would they attack when they know they would lose?"

Ron shrugged, "I think you should tell Harry what we talked about, he'll probably know more about it then we do. I should probably go," he looked sheepish. "I've got to start writing down what happened for this potion."

She smiled rather then admonish him. Ron's slacking habits were one of the things that caused her to miss Gryffindor Tower. Despite the fact that it annoyed her there was a sense of homeliness in it that she wished she had again.

"I made a point of writing several paragraphs at the end of each night so I can compile them and then rewrite a few copies." She said smartly and he rolled his eyes.

"Not everyone can be perfect."

She grinned at him and they shared a friendly laugh. "I am not perf-

"Granger," Draco interrupted them and sneered at Ron. "Let's go. Morag is seriously dragging on my patience."

She looked over at Morag, who was talking amiably with a portrait and then back at Draco, who was scowling so heatedly at Ron she wondered how the Hufflepuff had put him in such a bad mood. "I suppose…" She turned to Ron. "See you at dinner?"

"Yeah."

She parted with Ron and began walking to her dormitory with Draco. They began talking about things they found amusing as they stepped into the Common Room while thinking of how Morag seemed to be quite hysterical.

"Witty humor." She was saying. "It's so much better then a stupidly placed perverted joke and actually requires someone with some level of intelligence to make it good."

"I suppose you don't get any with the Gryffindors, then." Draco said and smirked.

"Oh shut up." She said, amused. "Oh, there you are Harry. Could I talk to you?"

The raven haired male looked up from his book. "Sure. Alone?" He shot a pointed look at Draco, who glowered and stalked to his room. "Easy to irritate, that one."

She smiled slightly and sat down across from him on a loveseat, quickly explaining the conversation she'd had with Ron. Harry looked immensely annoyed by the end of it.

"I don't know _anything_. It's so frustrating." He ran a hand through his jet black hair and let out a breath of hot air.

"Why don't we write Remus tomorrow? We could meet with Ron and spent all day together." She suggested, knowing that mentioning his favourite ex-professor often cheered him up.

Harry shot her a strange look. "Didn't your team win that trip to Hogsmeade?"

"Did we?" She didn't recall Draco telling her about it. "I don't know."

"Dumbledore announced it at the end of breakfast."

"Oh, I suppose I wasn't listening."

"Don't you always listen?" Harry grinned lopsidedly at her. "A lot of people are going, since there are people from different groups on your team."

"I thought we were separating this weekend…right?"

"Merlin Hermione, where were you this morning?" He sighed in mock exasperation. "Dumbledore also said he felt it wasn't necessary for us to be separated at all anymore because the groups were working well."

"Oh." She wondered if she should feel so delighted about being able—er, _having to_-- to spend the Hogsmeade day with Draco. "Are you disappointed?"

"Not really." He shrugged. "I was going to go with them anyway, we're meeting Blaise's friend at The Three Broomsticks. I promised to help him sneak out because he's in seventh year."

She was surprised, to say the least. At the beginning of this assignment Harry had acted like being stuck with the two Slytherins had been the worst thing imaginable. Now, however, he had planned on spending a day with them at Hogsmeade even though he'd been given the choice not to. Before the change of separation, anyway.

"It's sort of important." Harry continued, "Blaise really needs this. It's hard to explain right now, but it's important."

"That explains a lot." She said sarcastically, ignoring the raise in his eyebrows at the remark. "Where is Blaise?"

"Talking with Pansy."

She nodded in understanding and when she heard a door no the other side of the room open she looked that way quickly. Her heart sank as it was Blaise and Pansy who exited Pansy's room and then moved over to Draco's.

Something was different. She realized as she got over the strange disappointment of it not being Draco who'd left the room. Pansy looked over at Harry and a silent understanding passed between the two of them. She felt completely lost and really stupid.

"Let's sit down."

_Something is wrong!_ She sat down on one of the couches, bracing herself for what was surely unpleasant news. Draco came out from his room and spoke briefly with Pansy, before taking a seat next to Hermione. Blaise sat in an armchair while Harry and Pansy took the loveseat.

There was an awkward silence.

"What's going on?" She asked and looked around. Draco and she seemed to be the only ones in the dark. Harry and Pansy both looked to Blaise, who was looking quite pale.

"Right." He cleared his throat and looked at the space on the couch between Hermione and Draco, which was remarkably small. "There's something I should tell you."

"It's okay." Pansy said in the gentlest voice Hermione had ever heard her use when Blaise didn't look physically able to continue.

"I decided to tell you, Hermione and Draco, that is, at once. You know, kill two banshees with one curse." He laughed nervously. "This is hard to say, I mean, I didn't know but I really did and it's really not something you confess to people everyday."

"Yes?" Hermione could have hit Draco for his tone; obviously this was causing Blaise great emotional distress.

"Er…I…think…well I _am…_"

"Go on." Harry said in a soothing voice.

"I'm…well…" He looked up suddenly, right into Hermione's eyes. "I like guys."

There was a sharp silence and she sat on the couch, struck dumb. Finally, when the tension was too thick to bear she spoke. "Really?"

"Yeah." Blaise said, looking over her head at the wall.

"What about at the beginning of the assignment? With Granger?" Draco asked, his tone held neutral.

"It was sort of a test." Blaise said, blushing and looking at Hermione apologetically. "I wanted to see if I would respond to a willing…well a willing girl. It sort of worked. I suppose that means I'm bi, then."

"How long have you known?" Draco spoke again in that unnervingly expressionless tone.

"I thought. For a long time, actually. It was sort of strange, for me, when I didn't notice or particularly care about some of the things you pointed out about girls. I knew last year." He spoke slowly.

"How did you know?" Draco asked, his voice deliberately even.

"I fancied someone." Blaise whispered, as though his entire life was weighed in those words. Hermione realized that it was quite possible that it did.

"You liked someone." From Draco's tone, everyone understood that everything was not okay with him. At all.

"What's wrong?" Hermione turned to him, shooting a quick glance at Blaise.

He ignored her. "You're gay."

"Basically." Blaise said nervously. "I'm bi. I told you. Is that…are you okay with it?"

"No." Obviously no one had expected such a blunt answer. Pansy gasped, Harry's jaw dropped, Blaise looked crushed and Hermione stared incredulously at Draco.

"No, I am not okay with the fact that my best friend--_my roommate_-- has been secretly gay for, what, at least a year? God, I've _changed_ in the same room as you! We've had _showers_ in the same place for Christ's sake! We've slept in the same dormitory for five years and you failed to mention, just once, that you were gay!"

"He only realized last year." Harry snapped. "He didn't even know!"

"He couldn't have said, even once, 'Oh, Draco mate, something funny is going on. I've been having these dreams about guys, do you think it's normal?'" Blaise's face flushed, though it was difficult to see due to his dark skin. "How am I supposed to feel about this?"

"Feel? I didn't know you were capable of feeling since you're a heartless bastard!" Harry shouted.

"Should I be happy my friend could have been checking me out for years?"

"Malfoy-" Hermione said quickly, getting to her feet as Draco stood.

"Shut up, Granger." He spat without even looking at her.

"Leave her alone." Blaise yelled, getting to his feet as well.

"Don't tell me what to do you–you repulsive thing!" Draco bellowed, his eyes blazing.

"Don't speak to him that way!" Harry snarled, standing up.

"Get your boyfriend to stay out of this!"

"We're not-"

"Piss off, Pott-"

"Draco shut up!" Pansy screamed, and they all turned to look at her. "What is your problem?"

"My problem? Him!" Draco pointed at Blaise.

"Get the hell away from here!" Harry had his wand pointed straight at Draco's heart and there was a heavy silence.

"Fine." He turned on his heel and stalked to his room.

"Wait." Blaise grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving. "Draco-"

The blond wrenched his arm out of the dark skinned boy's arm. "Get the _fuck_ away from me."

Hermione closed her eyes, she couldn't stand to see Draco treat Blaise like this. There was a loud slam and Draco was gone, leaving Blaise standing alone, staring at the door.

"Oh, Blaise." Pansy whispered, and the room had been so silent Hermione wondered if Draco could hear it. Hermione looked over and saw, to her intense surprise, Harry hug Blaise (albeit awkwardly) in an overt display of friendship. Pansy joined them, and they stayed that way for about a minute as she sat down in the couch and felt extremely out of place. "Oh, darling I'm sorry."

"I didn't know he would-" Blaise choked and he let out shuddering sobs. Hermione now felt like she was intruding on something really private and personal. When had it become okay for Harry to hug Blaise? Especially now he was crying? She thought about this and suddenly gasped, causing all three of them to look at her. "You two…Harry and Blaise?"

"No." Blaise said, wiping his eyes and angling his head behind Pansy and Harry's so she couldn't see his tears. "Harry really isn't attractive to me."

"Oh." She blushed and pretended not to notice the shake in his voice. "I'm sorry. I should just go, I'm intruding."

All three looked like they agreed and she couldn't help but feel hurt. Pansy looked at her and then said, "It's alright. We'll go into his room."

Harry looked at Hermione with a questioning expression, asking if she wanted to talk to him. She nodded and he sat down across from her as Blaise and Pansy walked to Blaise's room.

"Harry?" She asked cautiously, his expression was quite furious.

"What?" He snapped and then relaxed his shoulders, "Sorry. It's just you don't really understand how important Malfoy is in Blaise's life. He needed him to be okay with this."

"I can't believe he would be like that." She said, wondering if she'd gone insane. When had she ever thought she wouldn't believe Draco Malfoy was being nasty?

"I can." Harry said shortly.

"Is that, well this, what you and Blaise were fighting about during the potion?" She asked, preferring to avoid the topic of Draco because part of her wanted to sympathize with him. Some part which she didn't understand, or was scared to try.

"Yeah. I knew right after I woke up from the change. He's always thinking about him, looking for him in crowds, and while I could have lived without some of the thoughts it made me realize --" He stopped abruptly. "I forgot you don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"Well you know now but…that he fancies someone now." Harry mumbled, looking sheepish. "I suspected it before, I mean after being with someone for a month and a half you sort of get to know their habits and behavior, but I had no idea it was so strong."

"Is it?"

"He loves him." Harry said simply.

She felt incredibly stupid. How could she miss something this important, when these people were living with them? Not only that Blaise was at least part homosexual, but he had a crush on someone too! And she'd also missed on of her best friends drawing away from her and to Blaise. And Pansy. When did Harry and Pansy get on good terms?

"Harry…" She tried to make her question sound conversational, as though she hadn't been figuring out how to phrase it since Blaise's confession. "After feeling all Blaise's emotions for this person, do you still fancy them?"

He shook his head. "I'm actually 100 sure I'm straight now. All the things Blaise thought about or noticed I've never even thought about once. If Malfoy fancied some girl, would you still feel that now?"

The thought of Draco fancying another girl made her stomach clench uncomfortably. "I suppose not. He doesn't, though."

"Hmm?"

"He doesn't like another girl." She said and quickly added, "I would tease him if he did."

"Mmm." Harry made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat. "I am also quite sure that Blaise does not have any feelings for me other then platonic. That was your next question, right?"

"Yes." She said, blushing slightly. "It was."

"Blaise and I are friends, and there is absolutely no confusion with that. Same with Pansy."

"That's good then." She said, resisting the urge to say, 'what about Ron and I?'

He looked at her silently for a minute. "You and Ron are still my best friends, Hermione."

She ducked her head, embarrassed that he read her so easily. "Its difficult, not being near you two all the time. And especially Ron, I hardly talk to him."

"I know. I miss Gryffindor too, but I've been doing what you said. Trying to make the most of this." He said and she smiled weakly. There was something in sitting with Harry, talking about missing each other and Gryffindor that was so much more difficult then seeing her House Table during meals and knowing she was supposed to be there and wasn't. When they'd arrived at Hogwarts, they were told Hogwarts was their family. Right now, they were on their own. Hermione was lucky, because she lived in the same place as Harry. No one else had that luxury.

"I should go." She said, a lump forming in her throat and suddenly feeling depressed.

"Yeah, I should go talk to Blaise." Harry said quietly and she nodded, watching as he got up and walked away.

_You're being stupid. _She told herself, blinking rapidly. Standing up she leapt up the few stairs leading to her room and dug around through her trunk for something to occupy her time. She pocketed her iPod and lifted extra clothing items out and onto the bed so the bottom was clear, that was where she kept the muggle things she couldn't leave behind when she went to Hogwarts. There were her favourite books, photo albums of her family and about two of her muggle friends she actually saw in the summer. Under that was a notebook from when she was about 9, and was writing a story about magic and a magic school. That was the 'I'm going to be a writer' phase. It had been so funny, when she'd found it the summer preceding fourth year and read it, all her childish fantasies of wands, magical creatures and classes.

When her parents had begun to pack up the boxes at the end of the next summer to move, she'd put it in her trunk for fear they would accidentally throw it out, not realizing the emotional value it had for her. From then she'd just never removed it.

Beside that were framed photos that she'd never put up after coming into this room. Her parents (this one was stationary), her, Harry and Ron out by the lake in near the middle of September, smiling and laughing on one of the few days Harry was carefree and had slept without being plagued by nightmares. There was her and Ginny smiling together, a picture of when they'd all gotten their OWL results. She spent a moment longer looking at this, smiling. The picture was slightly blurred and was also stationary, because Mr Weasley hadn't quite perfected how to use Hermione's camera. She looked quite hysterical, her eyes wide, cheeks flushed and mouth opened as she unfolded the letter, no doubt screaming. Harry was covering one ear with his hand and looked slightly apprehensive and sad. She remembered him telling her he'd always thought Sirius would be there with him when he did that. Ron also had one hand clapped over his ear as he gave Hermione an exasperated look, holding his results.

She looked under those and picked up a book. It was her favourite and she always kept it wrapped up and secure under everything. It was the book her grandparents had given her on her eleventh birthday. Its cover was worn and slightly bent which suggested it had been read several times. On the front, in black letters, the title was written. 'Sense and Sensibility.'

Inside it was an inscription from her Grandfather, who had died two weeks after he'd given it to her. Her Grandmother had added to it three days after his death, when she'd found Hermione clutching the book tightly in her hands at the funeral. Some of the words were blurred from the tears Hermione had cried when she'd stared down at the flowing script and remembered her Grandfather.

_Dear Hermione_

_On her eleventh birthday she becomes the director in her life. We love you so much, our flower, and are so proud of you. You are more beautiful then all of Shakespeare's works, where you got your name. We wish you all the traits the heroine in this book possesses. _

'_Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between her inner vision and its ultimate expression. The chasm is never completely bridged. We all have the conviction, perhaps illusory, that we have much more to say than appears on the paper.'_

_Love forever,_

_Grandma and Grandpa_

And then below.

_Hermione, my love, your Grandfather has left us in this world. However, you have many angels watching over you and he is now one of them. Mourn, but do not mourn for long. He would want you to understand what comes after having a long, prosperous life. He once told me that he only wanted to live long enough to hold his grandbaby in his arms, and that he did. We watched you grow for eleven years, and could not have asked for more._

Her Grandmother had died the next year, and that made the book even more special to her. She'd written the date of their birth and then the date of their death beside their names, and had then sat in her room and stared at the book without, surprisingly, crying.

She put everything back in her trunk neatly after she'd pulled the book wrapped in cloth out. Reading always calmed her down. She'd never understood why plunging yourself into another world, so carefully planned and exciting, didn't give everyone a thrill. Trying to puzzle things out was something she loved doing, and then reading things over and picking up all the details you missed and didn't consider, and even later reading the beautifully flowing script someone had written.

She settled on the couch downstairs and began to read. When she realized she was still on the first page five minutes later, she let out a frustrated groan. _Why is this so difficult? _She wondered what Draco was doing, and resisted the urge to get up and go talk to him. It didn't matter. He was being a prick, why did she want to go see him?

She heard a door on the other side of the room open and refused to look, despite the fact that her heart leapt and started beating faster. "Granger…" Draco spoke softly and she jumped. "It's time for dinner."

She stood up and glared as ferociously as she could at him. He looked startled and took a step back. "Granger?"

She didn't reply for a long time, only scowled at him. They both stood tensely and Draco searched her face for some hint as to why she looked like she wanted to kill him. Not that he didn't already suspect.

"You're despicable." Hermione said and slapped him as hard as she could manage. He stumbled to the side and looked at her, his hand over the red hand shaped mark on his left cheek and she saw real hurt in his eyes.

_How dare he look at me like that after what he just did to his friend._ Without speaking another word she turned and stalked to the Great Hall, her anger at him reawakening as she pictured Blaise's face.

Ron gave her a concerned look as she down at the table and jerked his head at Draco. She nodded, but shook her head as he clenched his fists. Draco turned his head slightly as he reached for some coffee and Ron grinned at her when he caught sight of the angry mark on his face.

Neither Harry, Blaise or Pansy came down for dinner and she tried not to slap Draco as hard as she could. Again. While she concentrated by looking down at her plate, she saw a yellow slip or parchment beneath it and took the paper out.

_To: Winner of the Recent Quidditch Game_

_Congratulations. As a reward for your team's hard work, you have been given an extra trip to Hogsmeade this Saturday. Please meet in the Great Hall with your partner by 12:00 so you can be checked by Mr Filch. You must return by 5:30 PM the same day or we will come collect you._

_Thank you._

She read it with interest and then looked over at Draco, her heart thudding painfully with guilt as she saw the contrast of deep red with his pale skin. Anger flooded through her again as she had the urge to use her wand to heal it. The git had practically destroyed his best friend and she was feeling sorry for him!

He looked at her and she reached a hand out to touch the mark. She was pretty sure that she heard his breath catch as she rested her fingertips on his temple and trailed them down to the spot where she'd slapped him. "I shouldn't have slapped you."

He didn't say anything, merely looked at her. "I'm not going to heal you, though. You can do it yourself, or have this as a reminder of how cruel you are for the next hour or so."

She dropped her hand and turned away before she could see his disappointed expression. Ron was gaping at her from across the table, but she didn't see. Seamus and Dean were smirking at her and she glared, before transfiguring her knife into a small carry sack and put some food for the other group in it.

-

-

"Are you hungry?" She knocked softly on the Blaise's door, because she assumed Pansy, at least, was still in there trying to coax Blaise's self esteem back up to a reasonable level.

"You just saved my life." Pansy beamed at her and opened the door wider so she could come inside and set the make shift bag onto a table near Blaise's bed. She then disappeared outside the door and it closed quietly behind her.

Harry grinned at her as he opened the bag and she looked to Blaise. He was lying on his bed, one arm over his eyes and the other thrown away from his body. Someone seemed to have thrown blankets over him, as he was sleeping. "Is he okay?"

"He's sleeping right now." He said as he bit into a roll. "We've been talking to him."

"How upset is he?"

"Extremely. The only reason he never said anything before was because of Malfoy and he knew Malfoy was exactly the most accepting person. The fact that that prick acted worse then he'd ever expected just threw salt in the wound." Harry said and watched Hermione carefully. "You've talked to him?"

"No." She blushed. "I only told him he was despicable and slapped him."

"Good." Harry said sharply as Pansy came back into the room, looking both annoyed and pleased.

"What did you do to him?" She looked at Hermione and grinned. "I was just in to give him a piece of my mind, but he looked like you'd killed everyone he knows and has this huge red mark on the side of his face."

"I slapped him." She said as Harry laughed, though she didn't find it very humorous. "Do you think Blaise will be up for Hogsmeade tomorrow?"

Pansy and Harry exchanged sly looks. "Yes. We're meeting someone very important there."

"Who?"

"The person he fancies." Harry said and Blaise rolled over on his bed. "You should meet us at the Three Broomsticks."

"Really?" She perked up, thinking it would be good to meet with other people, and not just stay with Draco. "Oh…But I'd have to bring Malfoy."

"I don't care, bring him." Blaise said, sitting up and stretching.

"Are you sure?" She asked, biting her lip.

"Yes. It's not like anything is going to happen." He said and rolled his eyes as Pansy made a noise of disagreement.

"From the signals I saw him sending you, he definitely wants something to happen." Pansy smiled and winked at Harry. "You two are worse then Harry and that Weasley girl."

"That's horrible." Blaise groaned into his pillow. "I didn't know you could get worse."

"Hey!" Harry cried good naturedly, if Blaise was joking around it was a good sign. "There really isn't anything between us."

"Yet." Hermione said as Pansy went, "pffff," and Blaise laughed disbelievingly.

"There isn't."

"You two practically undress each other when with your eyes." Pansy said devilishly and Harry flushed.

"We do not." He said and she smiled at their friendly banter.

"I should probably go do some homework." She said and they said goodbye, tanking her for the food.

She walked over to the couch to pick up her book and, to her horror, it wasn't there. She scanned the room frantically and was in the process of running upstairs to check her room when someone knocked on the door.

"Yes?" She opened it and her heart sank.

"May I come in?" Matt asked, stepping past her and deliberately brushed their bodies together. She followed him to the middle of the room, blushing, and they stood. "Seeing as you are my assistan-"

"I'm not your assistant." She said curtly, crossing her arms.

"Alright." He said and smiled seductively. "I was told you would provide assistance for me should the need arise. That is why I am here."

She suddenly felt a bit dizzy as she stared into his beautiful blue eyes. The ill will she'd carried for him had just disappeared. "Whatever for?" She said breathlessly and he stepped closer.

"I need to find the kitchens." He said, smiling.

"Oh." _Why_? What a strange request… "Why?"

"I was told there were two House Elves there that would be of great interest to meet. Winky and Dobby?" He was so close that their bodies were pretty much all touching length wise. She had to step back a bit to keep her balance. Dear God she wanted to kiss him so much. _Kiss me, please._ She thought desperately.

"Dobby?" She whispered, more to get him to speak more then anything.

"Yes," his breath sent goose bumps all over her skin. "I heard he was a Free Elf, and could say whatever he pleased."

"Yes, yes he is." She said, enraptured by the way his pink lips moved. He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to the corner of her lips.

"Where are they?"

"They're…" Her eyelids fluttered closed as he kissed her neck. "On the-"

"What are you doing?" Draco's voice broke through her thoughts and Matt stepped away. _Damn. Stupid Malfoy. I _wanted_ that._

Matt stepped away from her and she swayed, still none too concerned with Draco as she stared at the Veela. He didn't steady her and she took a step forward, towards him, and spoke. "You know I'm going to be the Headmistress of Hogwarts next year? I scored 200 percent on all my OWLS and-"

"Didn't Dumbledore tell you not to use your Allure on students?" Draco hissed and suddenly she was blinking and stumbling away from Matt.

"Do not insult me." Matt spat, losing his cool for a second. "I was asking where the kitchens were."

"Why not ask a teacher?" Draco's eyes were flashing dangerously and Hermione, who was still disoriented and confused as to why she had the strongest urge to kiss Mathew, was slightly frightened.

"I spoke to Professor Snape and he told me the teachers of Hogwarts do not divulge the school's secrets."

"I don't know where it is." Draco said sharply. "Goodbye."

He looked at her and she smiled, unsure, before nodding tensely and leaving. She turned to glare at Draco. "Why do you always ruin everything?"

"What?" He looked taken aback.

"Couldn't you tell that I _wanted _him to keep doing what he was doing? You're so rude." She said furiously, letting all her frustration about that confrontation out on him.

"Granger, think about what he did to you. He-"

"I can remember fine, thanks." She snapped. "Don't bore me with your stupid pity. If I wanted to talk to a pinhead I would've asked Mathew to stay."

"Don't compare to that arrogant bastard!" He yelled, losing control of his temper.

"I'll do what I want!" She shouted back and turned to go up to her room. Something in his hand caught her eye. Sense and Sensibility. "Give that back!"

"What?" He held up the book. "Is this yours?"

"Yes!" She growled and snatched it from his hand. "What the fuck is your problem! Don't touch me, or my property ever again you filthy git!"

He stared at her, his grey eyes worried. "What's wrong with you, Granger?"

There was a heavy silence.

"I hate this." She said suddenly, whispering and trying not to cry. "I hate being away from everyone. I hate being near you all the time, and not being able to leave you when I want to leave! I hate that every time I get into a fight with you I feel guilty and think about it for hours, analyzing every expression you make and every word you say. I hate that even after what you did to Blaise I still want to defend you. I hate that it's impossible to explain to my friends why you're not so bad after all! I hate you!"

Clearly he was not expecting this and frowned. "Just calm down, Granger."

"Stop telling me what to do!" She shouted and threw her treasured book as hard as she could at him. It landed at his feet and he slowly picked it up, the inscription catching his eye. He read it quickly and then looked up at her, his expression guarded.

"I'm sorry, Granger." He said softly.

"They died years ago." She said and tried to blink back tears.

"Not about that." He replied in the same tone and she actually started crying.

"You're such a git." She choked out, feeling hopeless as tears fell from her eyes onto the carpet.

And suddenly he was hugging her and she was hugging him back, her head buried in his neck. He was saying something soothing in her ear, but she wasn't sure exactly what it was. "I'm sorry too."

He held onto her until she stopped crying, which could have been awhile. When she was done he made to step back and she tightened her arms around him. He stepped closer and they stayed that way for awhile, holding each other tightly.

**Author's Note: Yeah…sort of an abrupt ending. And the inscriptions kind of corny. XD. I'm going to pretend that since this chapter is long then usual it makes up for the amount of time if took me to update. XD. **

**Don't worry, Hermione isn't having a mental breakdown or anything. She's just confused about Draco. XD.**

**Blaise's secret is out… dun dun duuun. I would appreciate it if no one told me that Blaise being bi is disgusting. I get really irritated by people who flip out at writers because someone is homosexual (to whatever extent). This is NOT going to play any real part in this story, but I've been planning that he's bi since before the last summer. If you don't like slash, there is NO REASON you should continue reading this story. It will be exactly the same as if Blaise was not bisexual. It's just part of who he is right now, and he's my personality for his character so I can do whatever I want with him. XD. My mind is set.**

**Um… I did a Valentines Day one-shot…It's slash. XD. Don't worry, I'm not going off Dramiones, but if anyone is interested in reading it its there…yeah. H/D… **

**OH! Okay, I found this **_**AMAZING Dramione**_** that got me more excited then I've been in awhile. It is about Hermione being transported into this alternate universe with all the same people, but the good people are bad and the bad are good. It is amazing! Oh, and it's a Dramione too. You should REALLY check it out.**

**Reverse by Lady moonglow**

**Hm… I put up another poll. Please go vote!**

**Review review review!**


	26. Enlighten Me

Author's Note: Now

**Author's Note: Now. The chapter we've all been waiting for. The revealing of Blaise's crush. The reason Draco is such an incredible ASS about his sexuality. A small, VERY SMALL, realization of not-exactly-platonic feelings. And the Harry/Ginny head off.**

**IMPORTANT: ****Okay, so the 'Blaise POV' section contains slash. As in male/male romance. It's actually longer then I thought it was when I wrote it (in the summer, I know, LONG time), and I'll mark where it begins and where it ends. However, if you're interested in what happens between the, give it a shot. It's just some snogging, nearer the end of the section. All it means if you skip it is that you don't get the complete details and the chapter will be shorter for you. MUCH MUCH shorter. **

**The start is **_**Blaise POV**_**. The end will be marked as **_**END OF POV**_**! Got it?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own it.**

'_**Blah blah blah.' **_Is her writing in detention.

_Blah blah blah _are her thoughts.

_**Blaise POV **_

"So, can your remind me how you know Gavin again?" Harry hissed to Blaise as they neared their destination. He'd shown Gavin the passage, explained where he would end up and then they'd had to gone. They couldn't exactly show up from Hogsmeade later if Filch hadn't seen them leave.

"For the last time, we're friends from awhile ago and his parents are old friends with my father. But they don't see each other anymore." Blaise replied, "My mother doesn't like them." Harry recalled hearing about Blaise's mother, the famously beautiful one.

"So you're close?" Pansy asked curiously, she'd never actually met this person in Blaise's life before that year, and while they'd talked about him before, it was different knowing Blaise fancied him.

"How do I answer _that_? We've seen each other a lot more lately... But yeah, I guess we're close."

"So you're going to tell him, right? That you like him? And you're going to kiss him, right? That was the deal." It still amazed Blaise how casually and calmly Harry could bring this up; talk about it so easily. Especially after Draco's reaction. But then as had Harry said, he had experienced everything from Blaise's point of view.

"Well-"

"Come _on_ Blaise, he's got to know." He was saved any kind of answer when they walked inside and Gavin waved them over, smiling. His stomach turned upside down and he fought to keep from grinning madly. He had light brown hair and grass green eyes. He was about an inch shorter then Blaise and had a bit more muscle. His grin was infectious and his voice was deep and warm, it made Blaise's heart rate speed up.

"Hey, Blaise." He smiled, "Harry, Pansy."

"Hi Gavin." Blaise said, sliding into a chair across from Gavin, beside Harry. "Is there anything new with you?"

The other boy shrugged, "Loads of homework."

"I think the teachers are trying to drown us in it," Blaise nodded, "Snape gave us an essay for three rolls of parchment!"

Gavin laughed softly; it made Blaise's stomach twist. The subject changed abruptly when he said, "One of my friends told me you've been looking upset lately." He pretended to be interested in his spoon and then looked up, watching Blaise intently.

"What? Who said that?" He felt his skin grow warm, one of the more embarrassing side effects of having Gavin focus on him.

"Just a friend. Apparently you look like 'a nervous wreck that could break into hysterical lunacy at any point in time.' Something wrong?"

"Such a nice description." Blaise said dryly. Gavin said nothing and he went on slowly, "Draco and I had a row."

A guarded look crossed the blonde's face, "You and Draco had a row? Must have been pretty bad if you're that upset."

Blaise sighed, thinking of Draco wrenching his arm away. "Well yeah. He's my best mate."

Harry nudged Blaise from under the table with his foot, but when he glanced at him the raven haired boy was looking away. "Do you want a drink, Harry?" He covered up, thinking of a reason for his unexplained glance.

"Sure, butterbeer." Harry replied, Gavin and Pansy both asked for the same. Blaise went up to buy the drinks, trailing his fingers across the table as he walked. They grazed Gavin's and he pulled them away quickly, hiding his blush.

The walk away from the table set him in a bad mood. He was the one _friends_ with Gavin, why did he have to be the one to leave? And then his mind reminded him that the reason he felt that way was because if he had a choice, they would not be _just_ friends. That just darkened his mood.

He grew impatient as he watched Harry and Gavin talk about something that was evidently funny, since Gavin laughed. Hot jealousy pooled in his stomach and he tried to convince himself to be reasonable. Really, they weren't even dating or anything.

When the barmaid handed the drinks he took them quickly and strode over to the table, annoyed with his uncontrollable feelings and that Harry had made Gavin laugh.

"Here," he shoved the bottle of liquid at the Gryffindor harder then necessary, handed the other to Gavin and slid Pansy one across the table.

"Thanks, man." Gavin said, popping the lid off it and taking a drink. "How long are you and Harry stuck together?" Blaise lost his train of thought as the blonde licked his lips, momentarily losing his head as it was filled with mist.

"And Pansy." Harry put in, noticing his lapse in responding.

"Don't forget me." She said.

Blaise turned his bottle thoughtfully, tearing his eyes away. "We don't really know. It could be awhile. You know it's sort of a drag, being stuck to someone."

"Yeah," Harry chuckled. "Er, I'll be right back." He stood up abruptly, excusing himself to use the bathroom. As Blaise watched him he turned around and widened his eyes in a _do it_ kind of way.

"Yeah, I have to touch up my, erm, lip gloss." Pansy mumbled, grabbing her purse and hurrying away. His palms were getting sweaty and he forced himself to meet Gavin's intense stare. The brunette's eyes met his and he felt his blush intensify.

"Are you okay?" Gavin asked, looking concerned. "You look kind of sick."

"I think I need some air," Blaise gasped, staggering to his feet. He felt dizzy, and realized that he probably _loved _Gavin.

"Blaise?" His hand reached out and grabbed Blaise's forearm to steady him. The contact sent Blaise's insides to shreds and all he could do was nod and get out of there as fast as he possible. Thankfully, the alleyway between the two buildings was not too far from Harry or Pansy that there would be a flying incident, as he had taken to referring to the time in the Great Hall that Draco and Hermione had crashed into each other midair.

Gasping for breath, he leaned against the side of the building, where no one could see him. He released it in short puffs, forming frosty clouds in the cold air. Shivering, he regained his composure. It had never felt like that, being close to someone he fancied. Which, he realized, he hadn't even really done. He'd had small attractions, but nothing with this intensity.

"Blaise," Gavin had evidently decided to follow him, "Do you want to go back to the school? Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey."

"No. No I'm fine." He said, running a hand through his hair. _I know exactly what she'd say. I was experiencing 'intense attraction', or something equally irritating and obvious. _Maybe he should stop seeing Gavin, at least until his feelings got under control. His mind protested loudly against that idea. But he couldn't go on without saying how he felt, it was getting to be too much. At least when Gavin let him down he would know not to hope that there was even the slightest chance…

"Are you sure? What's wrong?" He was walking hesitantly closer.

"Nothing, forget it." Blaise answered dismissively. "I'm cold, let's go inside." He made to move around the other male, but one of Gavin's hand reached out and took his wrist, stopping him as their sides brushed together. "Don't," Blaise groaned as electric bolts flew through him, making his head spin.

"You can tell me." The voice was soft and reassuring, obviously mistaking his groan for one of discomfort. He couldn't help it. He relaxed against Gavin's side and let his hand slide into Gavin's, lacing their fingers together. As he turned back to him he saw Gavin's eyes widen. They were so close. Gavin's increasingly ragged breaths blew hot air across his cheek, not helping his control at all as pleasurable tingles shot through him. He was moving even closer. Blaise's heartbeat was pounding in his ribcage.

Gavin's eyes were wary as they searched his face, looking for a sign. For permission. Blaise gave it to him, stepping closer until their hips, chests, and foreheads were touching.

And then he was against the wall with Gavin's lips on his own, their bodies crushed together. Gavin's free hand (their others were still entwined) was in his hair, on his chest, fingering his belt buckle in a tantalizing way but never actually making a move to undo it. It both frustrated and encouraged Blaise; the kiss deepened. He was on fire. Blood was no longer flowing in his veins; it was flames, licking every inch of him, heating him until he would combust. But still, he was there, able to feel every twitch of Gavin's body against his own, every finger gripping his hair. He was drowning in the heat from their bodies. He couldn't breath, his head was spinning, he needed to _breathe_.

They broke apart, panting heavily. "Blaise?" Gavin's voice cut through his haze like a knife. "You-you're-"

"Yeah," he said breathlessly.

"I-I don't- I don't understand," his voice was ragged and Blaise leaned forward, closing the gap between their lips. Automatically, it seemed, Gavin responded. Blaise's hand wove back into his hair, pulling his head closer.

"I like you," Blaise murmured against Gavin's lips, the only thing he was able to say that was quite clear in his head. The rest as just a bunch of fuzz. "A lot."

Their lips connected again and they pushed ever closer to each other, if it was possible. The attraction to Gavin was now burning under his skin, causing a swelling bubble in the pit of his stomach. This was real. He was really there.

"We should stop," Gavin panted, pulling away, bit his lip and then kissed him again. A strangled noise escaped his mouth as Blaise ran a hand over his chest under his robes and he pulled away again. "I need to stop."

"Why?" Blaise mumbled, not relinquishing his grip.

"Because if I don't now," he gasped as Blaise's hot mouth found his neck and closed his eyes, "I don't know when I will."

"I don't _care_." He said stubbornly, removing his lips from Gavin's jaw line for a few seconds.

"Blaise."

Perhaps it was only that tone that caused him to actually realize that there were other things they should figure out. Like, for example, if they were going to be in a relationship. If they would tell anyone. If it was a fluke. He drew his hand away from Gavin's hair and leaned on the brick wall he was pressed against, taking deep, shuddering breaths. Gavin pivoted so he was standing beside him, their hands still linked between their bodies.

"So you… you like me?" Gavin asked, a slight hesitation in his words.

"Yeah." The fear of rejection began to course through his veins, what if Gavin didn't actually like him _that_ way? What if he just hadn't gotten anything in awhile? He felt guilty for thinking it like that, but his stomach was twisting in vicious knots that had nothing to do with their interlocked hands. Well, not the whole thing.

"Do you have any idea how much I wished you were going to say that? I thought it wasn't possible, you know, and I thought I was going to screw things up just now." Gavin said, "Because I like you too. More then I should." Relief shot through his body, so much that he sighed and leaned his head against the wall.

"So you want to, you know, be, er, together-then?" Blaise asked, all his boldness was gone from their snogging and he was feeling quite shy. He'd never actually kissed a boy before, and now that he had it seemed quite obvious that he had missed out on something. He just didn't know how to actually go about this type of thing.

Gavin's hand found his and he squeezed it, "I do." This sent tingles through his skin again, though not so strong he wanted to snog him senseless. Hopefully there'd be other opportunities. "Who knows? About you?"

"Draco, Pansy, Harry and Hermione. My parents." He said softly, his fight with Draco coming back strongly.

"Are they all okay with it?" Gavin asked cautiously, aware that this was a tense subject.

"No." He said, "My parents don't care, quite shockingly enough, but they don't address it at all. Hermione and Harry are fine. They've been so great about it and everything. Pansy is delighted, I think she sees this as the reason I was never attracted to her. But she's happy for me, I think. Draco-"

"Is not." Gavin said grimly, his body stiffening.

"Not really," Blaise laughed humorlessly, concealing a sob behind his words, even though he felt it was quite obvious to Gavin how he was feeling about it.

"Maybe I should talk to him," he said, his voice sounded threatening, like he thought there wouldn't be much talking involved. More like beating to a bloody pulp.

"No," Blaise said. "He's still my best mate, even if he… doesn't agree-"

"What the hell are you talking about? How can he be your best friend if he's totally not ok with this? This is part of who you are, that's not going to change. Obviously he's hurt you pretty bad, so why the hell are you convinced he's going to 'come around' or something, or that you can ignore this? Because you can't."

"I don't know," his voice cracked and he stopped speaking.

Quite obviously, Draco had hurt him and he really wasn't over it. Obviously he'd be a bit out of everything, first he was agonizing over his unexplainable feelings that he didn't understand and couldn't get rid of. That was last year. He'd told his parents, who had actually been sort of supportive. Then he'd suspected it was all some kind of fluke, because he hadn't felt anything in awhile. And then Gavin had surfaced and he was hit with them again, only then realizing he couldn't ignore them.

And then he thought Harry might have started suspecting, what with him seeing Blaise staring at Gavin and how he blushed upon contact and, more recently, the mention of his _name_. Pansy didn't really pay attention, too caught up in her own little world. Draco and Hermione were too busy always trying to figure out what they were doing to each other and screwing up their relationship again and again to pay much attention to what went on with him, Harry and Pansy. Then the potion happened, and obviously Harry felt everything.

"I'm sorry," Gavin whispered.

"Yeah," he muttered. "I think we should go."

As if on cue he heard the sound of a bell, the kind that rang when the door to a shop opened. Harry and Pansy came around the corner, curious looks on their faces. They caught sight of them, began to grin furiously and stopped. "Sorry, should I-"

"Naw, we were just saying we should get going anyway." Gavin said, squeezing Blaise's hand and then dropping it. "If people don't know, we should wait until you're ready to say something about it."

"Thanks," Blaise said, his voice was hoarse and he cleared his throat noisily. "Are you going back to the castle or-"

"Are you doing anything, you know, important? Or can I stay with you?" Gavin asked casually and watched Blaise intently.

"We're going to The Three Broomsticks to meet a few other friends. Do you want to come?" He asked brightly.

"Sure."

Blaise smiled shyly and they turned to walk back into the little restaurant. And suddenly, in the course of five minutes, everything seemed so much prettier. He stole a glance at Gavin out of the corner of his eye and then grinned when he found that his boyfriend- it felt really awesome to be able to think that word- was looking at him as well.

_**END OF POV**_

Hermione and Draco were currently walking into Honeydukes. They'd gotten up and she'd seen Blaise off with a bright grin and a saucy wink (she was feeling uncharacteristically cheerful that morning, though perhaps it was because of the event that had occurred the previous night).

_Hermione rested her head on Draco's shoulder, feeling too pleased and happy and content to be embarrassed. And then a new emotion bubbled gently, as though it had been simmering in her for awhile and was now being recognized. She froze when she let itself fill her. It was affection. But different that what she felt for Harry and Ron. Not just in intensity. It was…did she _fancy_ him? No. No, surely not._

_Maybe it was a fluke. She could just be feeling out of sorts and just didn't understand what she was feeling. That was it, yes._

"_Granger." It so soft and so amazing that she looked up at him and stared. "Can you let go of me."_

_She leap away from him and covered her face with her hands in a desperate attempt to conceal her intense embarrassment. Yeah, it was back. "I'm sorry. I was, erm, well I was just-!" _

_He stared at her, one lip quirked slightly upward. "I know. I don't much mind when you're just-!" He sauntered to his room and then looked back at her. "And I most certainly do not mind when you use me as a teddy bear, though I'd rather to be on something softer. A couch, or a bed, perhaps."_

_She decided she probably wouldn't mind that either. And then quickly edited that out of her thoughts. Actually, she'd hesitated for a second, mulled over the obscurity of it and _then_ edited it out._

_Then she slowly walked upstairs, 'Sense and Sensibility' in tow and sat on her bed. _

_And then she smiled and spent the rest of the evening remembering his warm arms. And editing it out._

_She did _not_ fancy him._

"Anything in particular you want?" He asked her and they moved over to inspect a large collection of Icy Sugar Quills, which would numb your mouth and then pleasantly shoot forth bursts of sugary sweetness. Or so the sign said.

"Chocolate, perhaps." She said and they walked over a little ways so she could inspect the chocolate. Eventually she picked out a box of assorted chocolate and read the label, making sure there were no raspberry creams or something equally horrific. She wasn't very fond of chocolates with fruity flavoring, and had actually taken to avoiding blueberries ever since Draco had told her he was allergic.

And for the strangest reason, being most specifically _not _because she fancied him, she didn't even have the urge to slip him something with blueberry in it so his face got hives all over it, or his tongue swelled, or anything embarrassing and potentially dangerous.

She paid and stood beside Draco as he bought some chocolate as well, and then they left together. Slowly they strolled down the street in companionable silence. "Granger?"

"Yeah?" Her stomach was doing flip flops and she scolded herself. _Why are you acting this way? You don't even _like_ him! _

He looked calmly at her. "What time do we have to be at The Three Broomsticks?"

"Oh, erm," she tried to remember. "Twelve O' Clock?"

"We've got about ten minutes. We could walk very slowly." He chuckled slightly and she smiled, wondering if her heart had always jumped this irregularly around him.

"I suppose." She replied, "And do what?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Talk, obviously. I didn't know it was such a foreign concept."

She shrugged. "I didn't know you were capable of having a conversation with someone that didn't involve you being an arrogant ass."

He smirked. "I do try."

"I didn't know you were capable of actual effort." She rolled her eyes and Draco laughed.

"Life is more interesting with you around, Granger."

She blushed heavily and looked away, furious with herself. _You don't even like him! _

Unknown to her, Draco had looked in the opposite direction and rolled his eyes at himself. _Why did you say that?_

"Erm…thanks." She said and they walked on in silence, both feeling horrifyingly awkward. "Why did you act like that to Blaise?"

"What?" He looked at her, surprised at her abrupt question.

"Why are you so unkind to him about his sexuality?" She looked away from him and switched the bag from her right hand to her left.

"I…He's my good friend." He started lamely. "I've been living with him for nearly six years, and he's been keeping this from me all along? Our other roommates, how are they supposed to feel? My father-"

"It's about your father?" She snapped, angered on Blaise's behalf. "You've just turned away possibly your best friend because of your _father_?"

"You don't understand." He snapped back, "Purebloods are supposed to be the elite of society. We're raised being told that we're going to get married to a wealthy, pureblood woman and then have an heir to our fortune to continue on the line of our families. Being attracted to males is _wrong_. How do you make an heir with another male? You can't."

"That's a bit rich." She snarled. "So you could never be with someone who wasn't pureblood because your line would be _impure_? That narrows down your marriage options a bit."

"I don't get to decide who I marry. Custom shows that my parents pick several young woman of appropriate blood once I've graduated and I'm supposed to pick one."

"You don't even have a choice?" She was horrified. Of course, people had been heard of having arranged marriage, but this just seemed much more awful then Mrs. Pestel's daughter being married to someone from out of the country so she could go to an expensive college.

"I get to choose between several women, I just said." He said impatiently. "That's more then most families give their children."

"And how do they choose the women? Prettiest? Best at sex? Most wealthy?" She asked quietly, her previous anger replaced by a churning emotion in her stomach.

"They ask me." He replied in the same tone, stealing a glance at her. "They will consult me about which woman I know, have heard of, then make me meet before they officially include then. Though it does not appear so, little of what my parents do is not for me."

"Really? What of the scars all over your back?" She asked and pretended not to notice the offended look on his face.

"My father…" He sighed. "It's personal, but my father…Over the summer, Blaise, Theodore, Crabbe, Goyle and I were taken with the Death Eaters to a raid on a small village. They gave us cloaks, but no masks and told us to kill all that got in our way. It was…chaos. I saw a man, perhaps my age now, holding a woman and a child to him as he tried to fend off the Death Eaters. We all saw it, it was nearly the end of the battle –though you couldn't call destroying a muggle village with magic a real _battle_. He saw me. I know he did, and he looked at me and screamed for help.

"I wanted to. Merlin, Granger, I wanted to run over there and help him. But I couldn't, or I would be killed. Strangely enough, I thought of Potter right then, and a little voice in my head told me that Potter would have saved them. I was dragged forward with the others, and they ordered us to kill them. I couldn't… The Death Eaters…one of them killed the man. He aimed for the woman and he jumped in front. And…Father apparated both Blaise and I to the manor, and as did Nott, Crabbe and Goyle's fathers.

"That's why he hurt me. He was angry and scared. He told me. I'm their only son, Granger. It doesn't mean I'm just an heir."

"Oh." Had the story not been so depressing and interesting, she would probably still be reveling in the glee that he had told her it was personal, and then proceeded to tell it to her with almost no hesitation. "That's…"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Do…" She began cautiously."Do you want to be a Death Eater?"

He stared at her intently and then, to her intense disappointment, they were at the Three Broomsticks and walking through the doors. "Stop for a second." She said and turned to face him, finding that he was a bit close for comfort. "If you treat Blaise like you did yesterday, I'll-I'll- well I'll do something you won't forget."

He nodded rather then reply, his eyes trained over her shoulder and she turned. His eyes were focused on a table not to far away where Harry, Blaise, Pansy and someone she didn't know were sitting. She did know, however, that he was _extremely_ good looking.

They slowly walked over to them, Hermione both trying to distinguish from their body language when they realized Draco was there, and exactly how comfortable Blaise was with the other male at that moment.

"Oh, Hi Hermione." Harry said when he saw her and ignored Draco completely.

"Hello." She smiled brightly at them, her eyes lingering on Gavin a second too long for Draco's liking.

"This is Gavin Lembargo." Blaise hurriedly introduced and blushed a little. "Gavin, this is Hermione Granger."

"It's a pleasure." She said cheerfully and they sat down at the end of the table. "So how is everyone?"

"Good." Was the general reply and she nodded, trying to wrack her brain for something else to talk about. No way was she letting this get awkward.

"When is the next Quidditch game?" She asked and watched nearly all the table's occupants' eyes lit up.

"The Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw game is in a few weeks." Harry said and Draco nodded empathically.

"And the Gryffindors are going to get their asses kicked." He smirked at Harry, who glared.

"Just like the Slytherins have been trying for years, right?"

"Without you they wouldn't have a chance. And you win by pure luck." Draco snapped.

"You know Malfoy, catching the snitch isn't pure luck. That's what Seekers are supposed to do, though I doubt you've realized that since you haven't done it yet. Or are you just that bad?"

Draco flushed lightly.

"The Gryffindors are formidable opponents, but you'll notice Slytherin wins all their other games." Everyone turned to Hermione in surprise, because the defense had come from her and not Draco.

"Aren't you a Gryffindor?" Gavin asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yes. So?"

"You just defended a Slytherin."

"Inter-house unity is not a crime." She said tersely and then quickly added, "I can like who I want, and be friends with who I want." She didn't want Draco to think she was only being friendly because of Inter-house unity. _No, because its really because McGonagall asked me to. _

She banished that thought.

Gavin nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment a woman popped out of nowhere and asked what they were going to order. It was strange, really, how you could forget you were in a restaurant, bar, diner, whatever, and then a waiter would appear and you would be startled.

She mulled this over and concealed a blush by leaning forward to get her glass when Draco took off his coat and his hand brushed her side. Her skin burned and she pulled away from him. She did_ not_ like him!

Pansy brought up the subject of Professor Candy, and she was talked about until their food arrived. Strangely, Hermione couldn't find anything to contribute to the conversation and sat in silence. Draco was silent too, though probably because of the company, and shot her three looks until they began to eat.

Not that she counted.

To focus on something besides Draco –she'd noticed that her mind centered around him more lately- she decided to look around at everyone at their table and try to determine what they were thinking. It was something that sometimes amused her.

Pansy was smiling lightly, though it was more of her lips turned up slightly. She would look at Blaise and Gavin and then down at her plate, frown slightly and then sighed. Hermione guessed (she might not be accurate, but fancied herself pretty good at this) that Pansy was wondering if she would find someone she liked as much as Blaise did.

Harry was looking anxious and shredding up a piece of bread, frowning at his plate. She couldn't find an explanation besides his usually moodiness, and was disappointed with herself. Unless it was something with Ginny.

Gavin and Blaise were talking animatedly and she'd seen (after dropping her fork and bending over to pick it up) that they were holding hands under the table. Both looked a bit awed by the other. She took this to mean that they were together, and were surprised by this turn of events, while they were infinitely happy with the development.

She turned to Draco and was startled to find him looking at her. She held his gaze for a second and felt a jolt in her stomach. Perhaps this food wasn't agreeing with her.

She pushed away her plate and opened her purse and dug out a few sickles to pay for the meal. "You want to leave?" Draco asked her softly and she nodded.

He paid for his meal without another word and she said goodbyes to the table's occupants. They walked out, side by side, and she tried to quench the feeling of relief that came with being alone with Draco, and not with other people _and_ him.

It was a strange sensation, really. Wanting to be with your friends, but once you got there all you could think about was one person and how much you wanted to leave. It was difficult. Every time she was with Draco she was, for the most part, happy, even though she still yearned for her friends' company. When she was in their company, she wanted to be alone with Draco.

"Do you want to go back to Hogwarts?" He asked her, his tone a bit more light then it had been inside.

"Yeah." She said and they walked up to the castle, talking amiably about nothing in particular, but meaning everything words alone couldn't describe.

That evening at dinner, Hermione felt terribly drained. She and Draco sat down and when he asked if she was alright she nodded. She probably hadn't slept very well the previous night, she couldn't quite remember.

She looked up when the doors to the Great Hall opened, and she smiled when she saw Harry, Pansy and Blaise walk through, all looking cheerful. Actually, Harry looked quite nervous about something, and the other two seemed to be egging him on.

He nodded, and looked over to the Gryffindor Table. Hermione followed his line of sight and focused it on-Ginny. She turned back to Harry, who was taking purposeful strides towards the girl (who looked up suddenly and saw him).

Before she could count to three he was at the red-head's side, who looked up at him. And then, so quickly Hermione could only gape, Harry leaned down and kissed her!

Harry _kissed_ Ginny!

She stared in surprise as Ginny stood up and Harry straightened, his arms wrapped around her waist and hers went to his neck.

Someone wolf-whistled. People clapped and she began to smile.

Ron was gaping at them, his mouth hanging open and she laughed out loud, unconsciously gripping Draco's hand as she watched Harry _finally_ do something he wanted.

The couple broke apart, both beaming and then Harry, seeing every eye in the hall on them, blushed heavily. Ginny merely looked around challengingly at the people in the Hall (particularly a girl named Romilda Vane, who had shown an uncommon interest in him that year).

Hermione sighed happily and turned back to her meal. That was when she realized she was holding Draco's hand, and turned quickly. He was looking down at his plate, blushing slightly. Like she'd been burned, she ripped her hand away and looked away.

"So…" She began lamely and coughed. "Detention tonight."

"Yeah." He answered. "7:00."

"Mmhmm." She replied uneasily and shifted. "This is a good salad."

Draco frowned. "You're eating kidney pie."

"Oh." She looked down to find that, indeed, she was eating kidney pie. "I see."

"Are you finished?"

"Yes." She said and leapt to her feet. "Yes, that is a _good_ idea. We should leave for detention now."

Draco nodded, still looking faintly amused and followed her out. "Feeling okay, Granger?"

"I'm _fine_." She said forcibly. "Absolutely fabulous."

He grabbed her elbow and pulled her around gently. "Really?"

"Yes." She said and avoided his eyes. "Leave it."

He nodded reluctantly and they walked on in silence. A very awkward silence on Hermione's part. She snuck a glance at Draco and then sighed loudly.

It was going to be a long night.

As it turned out, Vector made her write lines. 'I will not ever disrupt the class again with my own personal conversations and/or distract others from their rightful education because of my own petty problems,' to be exact.

Draco sat in the chair across from her, his homework resting beside him and they both began to write. For a long while (Hermione filled up ten inches of parchment with her lines) no one spoke.

"So are you going to apologize to Blaise?" She asked conversationally.

"No." He replied and closed his Transfiguration book. "Why?"

"Because you should feel remorse for your actions." She said irritably. "Do you?"

"No." He shook his head. "I said what I wanted to say. _He_ should apologize to _me_."

"You can't control who you love." She snapped. "Though your parents must be having a fair time trying to control who _you _do."

"Why are you so obsessed with that?" He asked, slamming open his Defense Against the Dark Arts book.

"Because it is _not_ right!" She said loudly and lowered her voice as Professor Vector looked up from his desk. She scribbled down another line and then spoke more quietly. "If _we_ wanted to be married, you wouldn't be allowed! That's not right. If you love someone yo-"

"Save me the Gryffindor chivalries." He said dryly. "You can't have everything in life you want, Granger. Not everything is as easy for purebloods as it is for half bloods or muggleborns. We have traditions to uphold. We do what we must for our family lines. You think it is simple. Its not. That's one of the reason muggleborns shouldn't come into our world. It must be simple for you to join in our lives and then tell us we're being irrational, and discriminating unrightfully for what has been sacredly upheld!"

"Really?" She whispered furiously. "How does your father react to the fact that he follows a half blood himself? Your precious _Voldemort _isn't pure."

Draco stiffened. "I don't believe you."

"Not surprising. I'm a muggleborn, aren't I?"

He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it. Feeling insulted –though she tried to convince herself that it had nothing to do with the fact that he hadn't defended her against her own verbal insult-she turned back to her parchment and didn't speak again. This never ending battle was, quite literally, never going to end.

At least she actually didn't fancy him, or it would be a lot more painful.

She accidentally wrote that down and blushed furiously, scribbling out the sentence until she went right through the soggy paper and onto the desk. Draco looked up when he heard the frantic scratching out but said nothing, wisely turning back to his essay.

'_**I will not ever disrupt the class again with my own personal conversations and/or distract others from their rightful education because of my own petty problems.'**_

_I suppose if Malfoy wasn't such an incredible ass this would be easier to do. Still, though, he wouldn't be Malfoy if he wasn't. Is that good or bad?_

'_**I will not ever disrupt the class again with my own personal conversations and/or distract others from their rightful education because of my own petty problems.'**_

_I wonder how much longer the Order will wait for the assignment to be complete. Perhaps I should speak with Professor McGonagall after class. She should know about the progress I've made. What progress _have _I made, anyway?_

''_**I will not ever disrupt the class again with my own personal conversations and/or distract others from their rightful education because of my own petty problems.'**_

_He never actually answered my question earlier today. Should I ask him again? Probably not. We just had an argument, he wouldn't answer anyway._

'_**I will not ever disrupt the class again with my own personal conversations and/or distract others from their rightful education because of my own petty problems.'**_

_He might, though. Maybe I _should_ ask._

'_**I will not ever disrupt the class again with my own personal conversations and/or distract others from their rightful education because of my own petty problems.'**_

_He's looking at me. I should ask him now. Well now he's looked away. You_ lost_ your chance._

'_**I will not ever disrupt the class again with my own personal conversations and/or distract others from their rightful education because of my own petty problems.'**_

_Just do it. Ask him. Do it!_

'_**I will not ever disrupt the class again with my own personal conversations and/or distract others from their rightful education because of my own petty problems.'**_

_You're supposed to be in Gryffindor, you coward. Ask him!_

'_**I will not ever disrupt the class again with my own personal conversations and/or distract others from their rightful education because of my own petty problems.'**_

"Malfoy?"

"Hm." He answered, not looking up.

"You didn't answer my question from earlier. Before we went into the Three Broomsticks."

"Yeah."

He didn't seem inclined to say anything else so she spoke again. "Do you?"

"You're going to have to be more specific." He said and looked up. His eyes told her that he knew exactly what she was talking about and was buying time.

"Do you want to be a Death Eater?" She all but whispered.

He sat there, grey eyes guarded and she realized he wasn't going to answer. Feeling quite disappointed, she began writing, carefully avoiding any splattered ink.

Finally, nearly five minutes later she felt a hand on hers and looked up. Draco spoke hoarsely, his face pale. "No."

She did a double take and then her mouth fell open. "_No?_"

He shook his head. "I told you why earlier. About the summer."

"Then why do you pretend you want to?"

"Fear." He murmured back and then Professor Vector looked up again and they both set back to work, their own thoughts making it hard to concentrate on anything else.

She didn't notice that it took him nearly the rest of the detention to regain color in his face.

"Hermione, there you are. Detention, I've heard?" Matt was waiting for them by the time they got back to their dormitory, his lips drawn back into a mocking sneer. "How irresponsible of a _Prefect_."

"What do you want?" Draco asked sharply.

"Such manners. I'm horrified." He looked between them and smirked. "I need to get into the Kitchens."

"What do you want with the House Elves?" She asked furiously, hands clenched. He had no right to look at Draco that way; like he was a piece of gum stuck to his shoe!

"That is none of your concern." He was fingering his wand and Hermione bet he was itching to hex them.

"Then telling you isn't my place." She said and smiled haughtily at him, hoping it infuriated him. It did.

He leered at her. "Tell me where the Kitchens are."

"No!" She snapped. "If you think I would ever tell _you_ anything you are sorely mistaken!"

"You rude little mudblood!" He hissed and Draco clenched his fists together, pulling his arm back.

"No, Malfoy! He's not worth it." She laid a hand on his arm.

"No." He turned to her, grey eyes shining with an emotion she couldn't bring herself to identify. "But you are."

And he punched him.

**Author's Note: Hello people! Hm. Life is sort of hectic. I have a job! I'm only working two shifts a week, but you know. First job excitement and all that.**

**I've got a recommendation!**

**Tangled Up by Hannah Longbottom!**

**It's a really good story, its about the Hermione/Ron relationship from Hermione's perspective in their sixth year. Check it out! She'd really appreciate it!**

**I have a new poll, so please vote in that!**

**Review review review!**


	27. Tempted Fate

Author's Note: I really am the most horrible person alive

_**MOST IMPORTANT NOTE OF A LIFETIME: I know some people like to skip Author's Notes and read the chapter, but please please please read mine. This is IMPORTANT to the extreme. Even if you just skim it and stop at important parts. PLEASE!**_

**Author's Note: I really am the most horrible person alive. I feel so horrible about the lateness of this chapter, and especially the cliffy at the end… By the way, listen to the song Here With Me by Dido, it is SO GOOD! That's what I was listening to when I wrote the end and its so amazing and OH GOD!**

**On a brighter note, Stephenie Meyer's new book The Host IS BRILLIANT BEYOND BRILLIANT! Oh my GOD! You should REALLY read it. I love it…I stayed up until 4:30 in the morning reading it. –sighs dreamily- Ian…**

**-giggles-**

**I just realized something HORRIBLE! I was looking through The Initiation for entertainment and clarification and inspiration and I realized that chapter 25, Enlighten Me, was written after I finished last semester's exams. Well this semester's exams are in two days, and I'm not even done chapter 27. It's devastating. I've insulted myself!**

**Also…there was this point I couldn't write at, and then I had this brain SPARK (after I PM'd Geegee, my brilliant friend who has a lovely name and then ran around the house to get blood pumping) and I ran with it. Sreaming out songs and dancing wildly while I did. And then, looking over this accomplishment, I realized I had changed from a general point of view of Draco, as was INTENDED for this chapter, back to Hermione. So I tried to change it back and realized I COULDN'T because this passage BELONGED to Hermione. So I've decided to leave it and smoothly transition back to Draco after. Its only fair. You'll see. Hopefully you'll notice. Its pretty big. About page sixish.**

**IMPORTANT: ****I've been planning what happens at the end since BEFORE last summer. Over one year ago. I'd appreciate if no one flamed me. XD.**

**Dedication: To my BFFF (Best Fan Fiction Friend) Geegee, because when I told you my idea you told me I **_**could**_** do it, and have been so supportive of this chapter. And beta'd it. **

**OK, everyone SUPER special thanks to q8iya (a.k.a Geegee, to me) because we figured out how to get around a problem I'm having with my e-mail connections and STILL beta'd and got the chapter to her! Everyone thank her in your reviews (crossing my fingers for them!) or PM her to tell her how super brilliant (not to mention classy) she is! THANKs daahhling! And yes, Geegee, that was a long author's note. Almost a full page.**

**I hope this all doesn't sound melodramatic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own it. **

**WAIT! Okay, nearing the very end, there is a very significant combination of words. The passage right after that is like a rewound passage of it, like it happens and then I go back to…explain what happened. If not, ask for clarification!**

**EVERYTHING is explained next chapter. So bombard me with questions and then I'll make sure I get ALL of them, because some of the things I know might not be as obvious to you. **

**Props to anyone who manages to work out what's happening/ what happened. **

**Cheers!**

**-**

Draco was sure of several things.

The first was that Mathew LeBlanc was never going to touch or annoy him again. He felt a great satisfaction remembering Mathew's shocked face as blood streamed out his broken nose. _Stupid bugger. _It would be all healed today, for his three colleagues coming to review his notes, but the feeling would still be there.

The second was that he needed to figure out how to explain to Blaise he didn't really care that he was gay, that it wasn't about that, or the only traces of their friendship left would be pictures and memories. Unless they figured it out. They had to. The reason was…extremely difficult to acknowledge it, even in his thoughts.

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. It was irrational, really, no one would be able to hear if he said it. No one would even know, so was this self dignity he thought he was risking?

_I'm jealous. _

He wondered if you could blurt out thoughts like you were talking to someone. Like when he was talking to himself. Did that sound insane? He reasoned that as long as he didn't talk back and interrupt and cut himself off it should be fine.

Nevertheless, it was true. He was jealous.

Blaise…had it figured out. He knew what it was he wanted, and he'd gone after it and he'd _gotten_ it. He was afraid to tell people, yes, but he had known. And in the end he had told people. And he wasn't ashamed.

But Draco…he could barely admit that he…well that brought him to his next point.

He fancied Hermione Granger.

He sighed and opened his eyes. No matter how many times he told himself that he _didn't,_ he still couldn't stop her face from appearing in his head. Her smile. Her eyes, alight with laughter…

And his heart fluttered. He blushed, ashamed of his self control. He thought about her and his heart jumped. His stomach turned over. He felt nervous. No, correction, he didn't fancy Hermione.

He was falling in love with her.

He hadn't realized he did until he'd been in her body and felt all her emotions and heard all her thoughts- when he realized that everything he thought she was she really was. He was glad he hadn't realized it before the switch, or Hermione would have known and everything would be awkward and… He shuddered.

Even accepting that—or trying to, anyway—sent him into instinctive denial. He couldn't deny it when he was with her, no, but when he was alone he strained himself trying to come up with reasons he felt that way around her.

She was so… He smiled unconsciously. She was so strong, brave, beautiful, fierce…He shook his head and cleared his throat a bit awkwardly.

The third involved his father. Not that his father would not approve, no, it was that he didn't give a damn whether his father approved or not. He smirked as he imagined himself telling his father to shut the hell up. _That'll be the day._

He smiled fondly at one of his fantasies, but frowned when he realized almost all of his other fantasies involved Hermione and were hardly appropriate. Most of them, anyway. He was thinking about this when someone banged on his door.

"Malfoy?" Harry's rough voice called his name. "We're going to breakfast now."

"Fine." He gave a resigned sigh and stood up slowly. There was no point in not moving just to bother Potter, because he would get really agitated if he kept Hermione waiting. And it certainly prolonged seeing her.

She smiled at him when he came out and his stomach did strange turns, like there was a high ropes circus stuck in there doing all their tricks. He returned the gesture with a tentative smile, wondering if she realized how she acted towards him. She smiled at him all the time now, sometimes touched his arm, shoulder or hand, and once, his face… Well, maybe it wasn't at the best of times, when she'd slapped him because of his actions towards Blaise and then touched it at dinner.

"Haven't I told you before, Malfoy, that no matter how long you spend primping in front of the mirror, you aren't going to look anything less than a drowned ferret?" Her voice was laced with amusement, its tones rich as she spoke words that made him wonder if he really thought of him as a drowned ferret.

"How many times have I told you, Granger, to stop opening your mouth as it only serves to reinforce your image as a know-it-all beaver?" He let joking mockery fill his voice to make sure he didn't think she looked like a beaver.

"I suppose that makes us different, then." She said and stepped out the door behind him. "Thank you. You see, quite frankly, I don't give a damn what other people think I look like. You, on the other hand, obviously do, if your hours spent in front of the mirror are any indication."

"Clever, Granger." He smiled wryly, "A bit too clever, because I now have nothing to say back."

"That's good." She said simply, looking at him and smiling. "Because I've gotten tired of hearing your whiny voice all day."

He wondered briefly if his voice really was whiny and frowned. "Really?"

"No." She said and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Malfoy. Such a drama queen."

"You like it." He said pompously. "It keeps you awake through all the boring classes we take."

She threw her head back and laughed, drawing Draco's attention to the wondrous sound and the delicate curve of her neck. "You really are arrogant, Malfoy."

He bit his lip to hide a grin, "I know. It's what makes me sexy."

She laughed again. "It's a shame you're so delusional."

"You're in a good mood this morning." He noted the absence of the slight crease usually marring her forehead, and the tug upward constantly keeping shape on her lips. The lips Draco so wanted to open wide again and smile. At him.

"It's going to be an exciting day." She said cheerfully, and he was so busy watching her and puzzling over what could be so exciting –while secretly hoping it involved him- that he didn't see someone else in their group smile excitedly.

However, even that could not have prepared him for what was coming.

-

-

"This is boring." Pansy complained during lunch, shooting Hermione an irritated look. "Defense, Transfiguration, Herbology and _double_ History of Magic too?! I need something else to do!"

Hermione smiled and Draco forced down a blush, because _damn _she was pretty. "You'll just have to wait."

"For what?" Harry asked curiously.

"For freedom." Hermione shrugged. "For classes to end."

"Hm." He murmured, looking between them suspiciously. "If you say so, Hermione."

Hermione simply smiled mysteriously and ducked as a misaimed spoonful of syrup flew by her hair. Blaise smiled sheepishly at her as Gavin snickered. "Sorry about that."

She waved her hand airily. "It's alright. As long as it doesn't hit me."

Gavin coughed. Blaise smiled at him, his eyes shining and Hermione smiled to herself. Draco stiffened beside her and she glanced over at him as he averted his eyes from the two males. She smiled shyly and touched his hand with hers gently.

Sparks shot up his arm and as though directly connected to his heart it began to beat faster. Blood rushed through his veins and his face flushed in what was probably a very unattractive way. He turned so she couldn't see it, but the Gryffindor withdrew her hand and he realized too late she probably thought he didn't want the contact.

Oh, did he ever want it.

He barely noticed as Gavin stood up and walked to his own House table, muttering something quietly to Blaise that made him smile shyly. So preoccupied was he that he stared blankly at the table, until a slow smile began to creep onto his face.

He jumped as owls streamed through the rafters and flew to the tables and frowned as he noticed the sheer number of them –until he noticed the stupid paper Lavender and Parvati had developed was out. Again. Draco sincerely hoped they hadn't put something else up about Hermione because she hated the attention.

The blonde glanced down as one was dropped in front of him. His blood ran cold with horror and he glanced up at Blaise. The other Slytherin had gone still, his eyes wide with shock and mortification.

Because there, on the page, was a blown up picture of the him and Gavin. In an alley. Snogging like their lives depended on it.

Hermione sucked in a breath. "_Oh no_."

Buzzing burst through the hall as everyone saw the paper. They looked over at the two, still unmoving, with disgust, anger, pity, admiration… His eyes flickered between people wildly. Hermione's expression of panic, Harry's look of pure fury, Pansy's open mouth as she stared… Blaise as he just sat there, looking down at the damned piece of paper. He felt anger surge up through him, more powerful than the feeling of Hermione's touch.

He stood up.

"Malfoy, no." Hermione snapped and Blaise looked up. Draco stared down at him, into his hurt and confused and frightened eyes. His best friend was in pain. He turned and stormed to where Parvati and Lavender were sitting.

"You _bitches_." He hissed, and their smug smiles fell from their faces. _Good_. He thought viscously, "You interfering, nosy, rude, inconsiderate whores! Did you ever think for a moment that they wanted their relationship to be a secret? Have you ever thought about anyone else's feelings beside yourselves? _Answer me_!"

"If it means that much to you, why didn't you tell them not to snog in public?" Parvati asked snidely, her Gryffindor bravery kicking in. Why else would she be able to look at him and not faint for fear?

He laughed cruelly. "Really? Because I honestly didn't think that some stupid, imbecilic Gryffindor would try to take pictures of peoples' personal lives and make them into showcases!"

"You're nothing but a Death Eater's son!" Lavender said in a shrill voice and pointed a shaking finger at his.

He was on the very edge of losing it. He was so close, his wand was pointed at her chest in two seconds and his mouth was already wording a spell - which one he didn't know, all he knew was that it would cause _a lot_ of humiliation – before someone's hand was on his arm.

"Malfoy," Hermione whispered softly in his ear, her breath tickling his skin and making him shiver. "Let's go. The others are ready."

Her voice, calm and soothing, broke through his angry rage and he let out a sigh. He turned slightly and looked into her brown eyes and nodded slightly. "Fine."

The people in the Great Hall glanced at them as they turned and walked to the big oak doors, whispering excitedly in not-so-quiet voices. _So what?_ He wanted to snarl. Everyone lost their temper. Even him. _Brown should be glad Hermione was there, or she might be something disgusting and ugly on the floor right now_.

"Thanks." He murmured to her as they fell behind Harry, Pansy and Blaise.

_Hogwarts newest scandal._

"It's disgusting." A Gryffindor girl sneered, looking to be in Year 5. "What a homo."

"I know," the girl beside her whispered disdainfully. "He's a shame to the school. He doesn't _deserve_ to live."

Draco bit his lip so hard it started to bleed as he tried to keep from shouting profanities at her. Harry, Pansy and Hermione had their wands pointed at her in a split second. There was a strange, tense silence as the air around them crackled. Harry was shaking with fury and he ignored the way his robes whipped around him like there was wind and it wasn't just his magic. The plates, cups and utensils on the tables began to shake throughout the Great Hall. Simultaneously the pitchers of pumpkin juice on the tables shattered.

"You just disgraced the entire Gryffindor House." Hermione said in a voice vibrating with anger. "Saying someone doesn't deserve to live because of their _sexual preference_? You are _despicable_."

"Why do you care?" The girl asked, quailing under their fury.

"Because **he is my friend**." She snapped and her voice burned. Draco saw Ron weaving through the crowed and prayed that he wasn't there to argue with Hermione, because she would be so upset she might say something she would regret, triggering him to do the same.

The red head stopped beside her and she turned to see his face red with fury. The Gryffindor, brave to a higher extent then most of the others in her house, began to cringe as his mouth opened "Ten points from Gryffindor. Be happy we can't take more."

"If you ever disgrace yourself and our house as you have here again I won't hold back. No matter if teachers are present." She said in addition, as Ron didn't seem inclined to speak more. The girl turned and fled, tears in her eyes, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.

To her surprise, it was Ron who broke it. He turned to Blaise and put out his hand, locking his blue eyes with Blaise's tearful ones. "Ron Weasley. I just want to say that I'm fine with you being gay and all."

Hermione stared at him, wondering what had happened to him. The Ron she thought she knew and understood would never have approached a Slytherin and said that!

As if reading her mind, he continued, "If Hermione is your friend, I guess you can't be too bad."

Hermione stared, wondering the cause of his seemingly new found maturity. Maybe this project had been better for more people then just Draco. She looked around the hall, pride filling her as she saw that there were no hostile glares from the sixth years. Miraculously they all seemed to have turned slightly to the hall with glares on their faces.

And slowly, Theodore Nott stood up in the silence as the students stared at their group. He walked slowly over to Blaise and moved beside him, resting his hand on his shoulder and looking defiantly out in the Great Hall. Lisa stood up and followed him, folding her arms over her chest and stood on Theodore's other side. Next was Millicent Bullstrode, and then Gregory, and then Vince, and then there was a pause because all the Slytherins and their partners were standing. And then, to Hermione's extreme pride, Neville stood up and walked over to Blaise, holding out his hand.

"Neville Longbottom." He said in a clear, strong voice. Blaise held up a shaking hand and Neville clasped it, before moving to Blaise's other side, between Harry and him. And then Ernie was following him, his chest puffed out and he, too, shook Blaise's hand, though there was a strange swish to it, like he was conducting an orchestra.

"It's a pleasure." He informed him, "I wish to tell you that I too, Ernie McMillan of the Hufflepuff household, have no animosity towards you and your sexual preference, nor your boyfriend, Gavin. I think it is marvelo-"

"Dean Thomas." Dean shook his hand and Hermione could have cried. She felt like her heart was bursting as Seamus joined and then there was a stream as the seventh years all introduced themselves to Blaise and stood beside him - around him – behind him and showed their support to him. It was dizzying, because they didn't have to do it. It wasn't necessary, no one was making them do this and they were. They really were showing their support of a Slytherin.

Even Lavender and Parvati, with ashamed tears in their eyes as thei whispered an apology.

As she looked through the hall, her eyes a bit glazed with pride at their ridiculous display of House Unity- of more, of friendship! - for someone they didn't know but could sympathize with. For Blaise, who they now saw as more then a stupid Slytherin. Or so she hoped.

The teachers looked on proudly and Hermione thought Dumbledore's eyes must be made of crystal, they were sparkling so brightly. She beamed around as she succumbed to the strangest feeling she'd ever felt. Draco was standing beside her, and she wished strongly that he would show his support too, because it would mean so much more then everyone else. But she became mesmerized by him and couldn't look away as his eyes as they, focused and bright and intense, didn't survey the room as they usually did. No, they were looking at her.

She felt their intensity like fire and it ran through her own chocolate brown eyes to her neck, where it separated and ran to the tips of her fingers while continuing straight down to her emerald green toes. He smiled at her, tilting his head slightly in a relaxed way. She couldn't believe it, because tilting your head was exposing your neck and that like a rabbit exposing its stomach, or a cat or some animal. A sign of trust. Your weakest spot.

She smiled back and casually reached over to entangle their hands while making it look like she was joining their group of support for Blaise. And it felt so right.

She smiled proudly and squeezed his hand. Because for that moment, not only were she and Draco together but so were the other sixth years, and they were linked by empathy and respect.

They were one.

-

-

Later that day, Draco was regretting several things. The first was not going up to Blaise and hugging him, to tell him that he was sorry and he was with all the others.

The second was not yelling 'fuck you,' flipping him the middle finger and smirking condescendingly after Chris, Gavin's old best friend, as he stormed out of the Great Hall. He'd gone up to Blaise and Gavin (Draco couldn't even remember when Gavin had gotten beside Blaise, though he did remember everyone else going up to him and shaking the hand that wasn't wrapped around Blaise's waist) and moved to shove Blaise in the chest. And then Neville Longbottom, _Neville Longbottom_ (when had he grown a backbone?) had punched him straight in the jaw while the teachers looked away and pretended to be interested in Hagrid's loud explanation of what a Gigglyjik baby looked like.

The third was letting go of Hermione's hand after they all moved away and went back to their rooms. He couldn't help but smile like a lunatic as he remembered the way she had reached out for him. She had wanted to hold his hand! It must have been a sign, right?

He looked down at the essay he was supposed to be writing and was surprised to find nothing of substance there. Strategies of partner dueling was a pretty easy topic to write about. He looked at what he'd drawn.

On the top right corner was the date. In the margins were doodles of a wand with sparks, a girl with bushy hair casting spells with particular violence on a red headed wizard (he loved animating pictures with magic), a heart around an H, and 'HG' with swirls and loops made into the letters.

His head shot up to make sure no one was near enough to see it, but of course he was alone. He was in his room. He'd asked Hermione if she wanted to go outside and relax by the lake, but she'd said that she had something important she had to do and maybe they could do something tomorrow?

He was so happy with her suggesting another day – because obviously if she just didn't want to do it with _him _she would only have said no – and the smile that made his knees weak that he didn't even question. Just like she didn't question his especially sharp retort when she asked if he was feeling alright, he looked a bit flushed. _Aren't girls supposed to know these things?_ He mused and thought, _what the hell?_ Before adding a female lion standing with a crown on her head to his pictures, before drawing a panther with his eyes hearts.

Obviously the panther had to be smitten with the lion. He was pretty sure the lioness was too cautious to allow herself to be swept away by such emotion. Unlike Draco, who had apparently decided to chuck all his lessons out the window and be a Gryffindor. Or something like one.

Chuckling, he pointed his wand at the paper and set it on fire. Swearing loudly, he dropped the paper as the fire spread quicker then he expected and burned the tips of his fingers. Casting a quick charm, he stopped the fire from eating his bed.

"Stupid wand." He muttered and got up to run his fingers under cold water.

But then his door opened and Hermione slipped in. He was startled, because she usually knocked. "Oh!" He jumped a bit and then smiled. "Hey Granger."

"Draco," Hermione said softly and he froze comically.

_What? _He stared at her. "You just…"

"I know." She moved closer to him and smiled up at him. "I…I think there's something we need to talk…about."

"Really?" His heart was beating so fast and he could barely breathe. "What?"

"This." She kissed him.

-

He had never felt so unbelievably…strange…in his life. It wasn't like what he imagined. And yes, he was even admitting that he imagined kissing her. He knew she had…experience, however much he hated to acknowledge it, but it was…different. There was a slightly violent edge to it, not serene and beautiful and calm like she was.

"H-Hermione?" He gasped as she moved back, her face sad. _Why? Was it that bad?_

"I think you should tell he-_me_ your real feelings." Hermione said and smiled again, a smile that wasn't nearly as warm as it usually was.

"My-my feelings?"

"Yes. Tell me."

"Oh-okay. I…"

"Not now!" She said quickly and smiled, again. How strange. Hermione wasn't usually so…smiley. "Tommorow."

"I-I…okay." He stuttered, confused beyond belief. Why tomorrow? Why not now?

"Goodbye, Draco." Hermione turned abruptly and left, leaving him standing there feeling stupid.

"Bye…" He whispered in the empty room, and then turned and collapsed on the bed, feeling stranger then he'd ever felt. His burned fingers didn't seem so important now.

_Why should I just wait on her here, hoping she'll come back? I ought to go out _now _and talk to her! I doubt she would just do that as a joke. She must have meant it…right?_

Somehow, he talked himself into it. It took him five minutes of chickening out and hardening his resolve, but he got up and went into their Common Room. But only Harry was there, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, smiling slightly.

"Where's She-Weasel?" He croaked out and cleared his throat.

Harry looked up, eyebrows raised. "I don't know. We're not attached at the hip, Malfoy."

"Could've fooled me." He said, not up to par in his usual biting tone. "Blaise, Pansy and…Granger?"

Harry looked at him strangely. "Blaise is outside talking to Pansy, she said it was important. Hermione is…getting some air, she said."

"What? In the castle?"

Harry looked suspicious, "Yeah… To think, I believe."

And then, to his horror, there was a high pitched shriek of terror.

And it was Hermione.

He sprinted, disregarding Harry completely and threw open the door, causing it to bounce off the wall beside it in his desperation. Pansy was gone, he saw her running and Blaise was gaping slightly, seeming in shock. He saw Draco and Harry and set off after them.

Draco grimaced as he noticed Harry pull distinctly in front of him, and despite his horror he was still bitter about how _stupid Potter can do everything better_. Blaise was right beside him, his arms swinging quickly as though propelling him forward and his eyes were alert.

Draco looked at him and Blaise looked at him and they locked eyes. To his horror, Blaise was looking _at him_ with _fear_. He opened his mouth to say something along the lines of an apology- but then they ran into the smoke.

Purple clouds suffocated him, dragging him deeper into darkness than his terror could and he coughed, panicked. "Blaise? Potter? Blaise?"

He twisted wildly, successfully losing the direction he had come from and was supposed to be going. "POTTER? HARRY!"

Someone burst through the clouds and grabbed his arm. He opened his mouth to scream but was quickly silenced. "Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry hissed near his ear. "They can't know we're here."

"They?" He whispered and stirred as he noticed something holding onto Harry's other hand. Blaise. The other Slytherin looked at him with eyes slightly glazed.

"Death Eaters?" He asked incredulously. "In the castle?"

"Could be. I only know that there is obviously something- some_one_, in this castle who shouldn't be here and the girls are gone somewhere. I don't hear anything else." Harry spoke quickly and clearly, though softly and it slowly brought Draco back down to earth.

"My father-"

"If you think he'll save you if Voldemort," Harry spat the name and he flinched, "is there, you're wrong."

"No, you are." He said back, though not as viscously because, honestly, he was holding Harry's hand and the raven haired man was leading him through the smoke.

"_Point me_." Harry whispered and then took off running, taking the rest with him. Draco gripped his hand and coughed again, sparing a glance over at the Gryffindor. His eyes shone with determination and hate, making Draco shudder. He'd only ever seen Harry look like that a few times, and they'd all made him wary for a few days.

There was another scream, this time it was a man. Harry's arm muscles flexed impressively and Draco felt another spasm of jealously, though it was short.

_Where is she? Hermione? _His mind was screaming hysterically and it took him vast amounts of strength to stop his lips from doing the same.

Harry did some complex wand moving and the purple smoke began to clear, moving to the sides of the corridor. The raven haired man dropped their hands and ran forwards until –

"_Avada Kedavra!" _

NO!

-

-

His heart was beating erratically as he took in the scene in front of him, two to a second. They felt like plateaus, freezing expressions, noises, faces…

_Ba-bump _

There was a man on the floor, unconscious with a Death Eater's mask falling off his face. He wondered who could have done that.

_Ba-bump_

It was Irretitus Painter, one of the Death Eater's in Voldemort's inner circle. His father often fought with the man.

_Ba-bump_

There were two others, standing side by side with their wands raised, masks in place.

_Ba-bump_

Harry jumped forward and Draco felt a moment of terror for the Gryffindor, because they would kill him!

_Ba-bump_

But his wand moved fast – violently – and the Death Eaters tried to dodge spell after spell until they were hit. Draco had never been so afraid of Harry Potter before but now he understood why the Dark Lord wanted him dead.

_Ba-bump_

Harry had just disarmed two men in a second but there was someone else coming forward, a malicious grin on his face while he dragged someone forward.

_Ba-bump_

It was Mathew. With Hermione.

_Ba-bump_

"I will kill her." He spat on the ground in front of her.

_Ba-bump_

There was Pansy from other side, running towards them.

_Ba-bump_

"_Avada Kedavra!" _Even as Hermione's body bubbled strangely and the skin changed.

_Ba-bump_

Harry flung himself forward, his mouth open but no sound came out. Or maybe it was Draco. Perhaps he couldn't hear anything but his own blood curdling scream as it filled his ears.

_Ba-bump_

He was too late. The spell hit before he could get in the way of her. Of…

_Ba-bump_

It was Pansy.

_Ba-_


	28. Grey Ribbon

**Author's Note: I hope none of you mind the way I wrote Hermione's explanation. I didn't want to give a long, tearful, dialogue-full account, so I thought this was the best way to present it. And, for the record, Pansy is completely dead. It was difficult, trust me, but she's not coming back.**

**Since I had writing in italics before a flashback, I decided to mark it just to avoid confusion. 'FB' stands for FlashBack and 'EFB' stands for EndFlashBack. **

**There's still this strange, swell of emotion like pride for an accomplishment, or something for this chapter, which is important, so I'm going to dedicate it to three people. Gosh, I'm so melodramatic.**

**Okay, firstly, Geegee. Gosh, how predictable was that? Seriously, though. You're just so amazing! You support my ideas, you let me **_**edit**_** your superb stuff and actually **_**suggest changes**_** to it, and then even more brilliant, you **_**take my advice**_**! So thank you, dahling! Hugs x the number of people who've ever signed onto fanfiction. **

**Secondly, to Silidons! There's just something about sharing a mutual love of Jasper and Blaise that can't be ignored! And, of course, the eight days apart birthdays. No, I still remember. It is the eleventh, yeah? If not…oh gosh now I'm worried. But anyways, xoxo and if you don't update soon, I might get angry. XD.**

**Thirdly, to you. Yes you! OBVIOUSLY I'm going to dedicate part of my special chapter to you guys! All you wonderfuls who add me to the author/story alerts and favorites, and take time to review and still actually READ it (you have no idea what the hit counts for the chapters do to my head, almost as much as the reviews!) even though I take forever and kill people. That was a very bad attempt at humor. Sorry. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own it. No matter how much I wish I did. And how sometimes it almost feels like it.**

Five minutes later he was rooted to the spot. The place he'd seen Pansy die from. Harry had taken Matt down in a matter of seconds. In fact, he even heard the Gryffindor start to yell _Crucio_ until teachers came running, and Dumbledore had went beside him; put his hand on his shoulder; stopped him. And still he stayed frozen, even as Hermione had fallen to her knees beside Pansy. Beside Pansy's body.

He didn't understand. He couldn't understand. He didn't _want_ to understand. It had been Hermione, and Pansy was running towards them. And then it was Pansy and Hermione was running. How…?

He took a step forward. He was closer than he'd thought he was to her. "No." He whispered and saw Professor Snape look up at him from beside Pansy's... "No. No. No…"

"Draco." It was Professor McGonagall. "Draco, listen to me."

"Minerva." Snape said quietly, "I'll take care of him."

He couldn't move. He couldn't see anyone – anything - clearly. "No…"

"Draco," Snape moved to touch him, but refrained when he pulled away. "Draco, I understand you're in shock. I need you to come with me."

"Pansy." He croaked out and stumbled forward.

"No, Draco, this way." Snape took his arm and prevented him from moving any closer.

The students were ordered back to their Common Rooms immediately. Shaken Prefects took over the student body and the hall emptied rapidly, with shocked, horrified, scared, and sad expressions. He did look close enough to see tears. He couldn't bear to wonder if they would cry for someone they didn't know, but was so significant in his life.

He was led to Dumbledore's office and barely felt his feet hitting the floor, or the dull sobs of Hermione and Blaise behind him. They were sat down and their Heads of Houses stood behind them. Snape rested his hand on his shoulder. Did he do that to Blaise, too?

"A tragedy has just happened." Dumbledore was saying, but his voice sounded far away. He saw Harry sitting beside him, his face blank and wondered how the wizard had felt each time he'd been in here after others had died. How he felt, after watching Cedric Diggory die. How he'd felt, after witnessing Sirius Black's death. How he felt when he was near Dementors. What did he hear, anyway? What did it feel like, to be him…?

"I understand that you want to grieve." He continued softly. "But it is imperative you tell me what you know."

Harry started talking soon after. "I was in our Common Room. And Malfoy came out, asking for Hermione. He looked strange. I told him she was in the hall and that she wanted to think. And then we heard her scream. We both started running to where it came from, down the corridor.

"There was this smoke. Malfoy got lost in it, and started screaming for us. We went to get him and then continued to where…to where I had this instinct to go. There were three Death Eaters there…"

He couldn't hear Harry any more. _Pansy. Pansy. _It was constant echo in his head, like waves that never stopped crashing onto the shore, intent on eroding every bit of sand until the entire side crumbled into the water. She was dead. Gone. After everything. All they'd been through, their friendship and the assignment and Death Eater attacks with their parents and Hogwarts and their show of unity in the Great Hall. She was dead. She couldn't do this to him. She couldn't.

"I know what happened." Hermione choked out after Harry was done. "It's my fault."

He couldn't turn his head to look at her. He couldn't feel anything for her statement.

"Can you explain, please?" Dumbledore asked softly.

He could barely register everything as she revealed their plan. They'd wanted to escape for a day; escape from themselves. So they'd stolen a bit of Snape's Polyjuice Potion and transformed into each other. Hermione had wanted to see exactly what the Slytherins believed, how much of their Voldemort support was real. She'd been talking to Blaise when Pansy had passed by them, but not so far that Draco would be sent flying after them. They'd heard her scream and without thinking she'd taken off running. But since Draco had obviously been running too, it hadn't affected the magic holding them together. That was her assumption, anyways, but Dumbledore nodded. She didn't acknowledge it.

Matt must have been after her, but when he saw Pansy as Hermione, he captured her with the other Death Eaters. Hermione had run right past them in the smoke. Matt, thinking he'd caught Hermione was going to kill her. When Draco, Harry and Blaise had arrived, Harry disabled the other Death Eaters. Pansy and Hermione's potions were up so their skin bubbled and changed as Matt used the curse. And Pansy was dead. Killed in the crossfire.

His mind was reeling. Pansy or Hermione. Hermione or Pansy. How could they have planned for this day, the day Matt would betray them? How could he live without either of them? Pansy had been a friend his whole life, even during their period of… disagreement. But Hermione…If he had to chose, who?

But it was already done and if he thought about it, it would only hurt more. If possible.

He sat, numb with pain and shock and… he couldn't identify what else was there, he felt like there were dozens of emotions curled together like hot wire that had been welded into one, big, fiery blob.

They asked the others to tell their perspective, to compare. He didn't mention what Pansy had said to him, as Hermione. He did remember on thing, vividly, that practically tore out his heart. _'"I think you should tell he-me your real feelings." Hermione said and smiled again, a smile that wasn't nearly as warm as it usually was.'_

He should have paid attention. If he had, he would have realized she'd been acting like someone else. She'd almost said _her_ instead of _me_! If he'd held onto her for a few more minutes, would it have happened? But they didn't know what Pansy had done in her last few minutes. They probably didn't even care.

He took in a shuddering breath as the teachers spoke quickly and then decided what to do with them. He followed them as they were led - where to he didn't know.

As it turned out they were sent to the Hospital Wing, as though they weren't stable enough to be at their own dormitories. Madame Pomfrey already knew – one of the teachers had brought Pansy to be laid in a bed. It was closed. Would he have wanted to see her?

Draco barely acknowledged that the spell connecting her to Harry and Blaise had broken. Because she was dead. Perhaps it was linked to a certain heartbeat. Who knew? He didn't care.

He sat in silence for the duration of their stay while the teachers were called to the staffroom for an urgent meeting. For about five minutes they heard the dead silence of loss, of a loss so strong it felt like hands, slowly pulling him into a pool of ice. Solid, yet with the consistency of water, if it was possible.

And still, later, the only noise that penetrated the dreadful silence was the shaken sobs of those around him. He couldn't cry, it was something deep inside him that told him not to. If he didn't cry, it almost felt like there was nothing to be sad about. If he didn't cry, he wouldn't have to think about why he was crying. If he didn't cry, he could immerse himself in the delusion that at any moment Pansy would come storming into the room and yell at Draco for being an idiot over something small and insignificant. If he didn't cry, then Pansy wasn't really dead.

But the only thing he could focus on was why he wasn't crying. Life was…it had been stripped down to what it was. What it had always been, what Harry had always known it was. Nothing. Not while Voldemort was out there. If he was still alive, or whatever it was he did, they were always in danger. One change of his mood and they could be killed. One plan gone wrong and they would be thrown aside as a meaningless casualty.

And for the first time in a long time, tears began to fall from Draco Malfoy's eyes.

-

-

They'd been there for nearly an hour – Draco measured the time by the low _click click click_ of seconds between each minute, in time with each painful stab of the constant realization of Pansy's death – when Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall walked in, looking grim.

"We've just questioned Mr. LeBlanc under Veritaserum." Dumbledore said somberly. "To discover a motive."

"Did you?" Harry asked in a detached voice.

"Mathew LeBlanc is a Death Eater." Snape said in his cool voice. "The Dark Lord wanted him close to Potter; close enough to kidnap him. Ms. Granger was an unexpected surprise. He divulged information on your relationship."

He looked in Hermione's direction, whose face was red and her eyes puffy. "He took your behavior and the seeming alliance between Mr. Malfoy and you as a personal insult, and decided to kill you. It was nothing but greedy petulance that made you a target. He also thought that if you were murdered, the Dark Lord would see it as a personal favor because Potter would be upset by your loss."

He barely registered this new information. So it was his fault, then. If he hadn't pretty much befriended Hermione, Mathew wouldn't have become a psycho and killed his – his Pansy.

He looked up at Snape with dull eyes, still cloudy and stared in hazy confusion. Shouldn't Snape be…well, spying? Preventing the good side from knowing? Instead, well, instead it seemed like he_ was_ the good side. But, no, he was acting, obviously. Stupid traitor. Couldn't he just pick a side? No, he had to be on both!

"T-that's why?" Blaise asked, his eyebrows furrowed and his head in his hands. "She was just a- just an accident?"

"Yes." McGonagall said, her lips thin but no anger in her voice. "But she did not die uselessly."

"She shouldn't have died at all!" Harry burst out and Draco looked over at him dumbly. "Everything is always my fault! Voldemort wants me and other people get hurt when his plans fail!"

"Harry," Dumbledore began, "There's nothing you can do. None of us anticipated this-"

"To hell you didn't!" Harry shouted, "What's new about it? Voldemort wants to get me and kill me, so he tries to get someone to come and get me away? What does that sound like? Maybe, I dunno, in fourth year when your life long friend was replaced by an imposter and you didn't even notice! In my first year, he was waltzing around on the back of someone's head!"

"I understand you're ups-"

"No you don't! This is just like when Sirius – when Cedric! - died, you say you understand but you don't! She was our friend!" Harry gestured blindly at the people in the room. "And now… what kind of place is Hogwarts, anyways?! No one's safe!"

"Harry-"

Two people ran into the Hospital Wing, sending the doors flying open in their speed and desperation. Harry and Hermione drew their wands in an instant and pointed them at the door. He recognized them as the Parkinsons. Another jolt to his stomach.

"Where is she? Where is she?" June, Mrs. Parkinson, cried hysterically. "Where's my baby? Where?"

There was a small silence and then Dumbledore took a step forward. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Parkinson. Pansy is-"

"NO!" She began to sob hysterically and fell backward into her husband. He cradled her and she cried into his chest. "No, no no no no no."

"There was a Death Eater. Will you please come to my office, we will discuss this away from the children."

He couldn't even find a spark of indignation at being called a child. June looked over and her eyes fastened on Draco. "Draco, oh Draco. You're such a good boy." They both looked at him and with a shaking hand June reached out and touched his face.

He stared back at her, a lump in his throat. Pansy was their only child. They'd struggled to have children for so long, and now they were too old. Both were only children, bad fertility was in their family history on both sides. The Parkinson line was finished as soon as they died.

They left with Dumbledore while McGonagall and Snape stayed. "We know this is going to be hard for you. But you need to go back to your dormitory rooms and stay there. We'll check on you in a few hours, but arrangements need to be made."

_Arrangements. Like a funeral. _He couldn't even deny it anymore. Not after seeing the Parkinsons. Not after crying. No, Pansy was…It felt like someone had taken out a ladle and slowly scooped out little pieces of his insides, until it was a hollow, aching hole.

McGonagall escorted them back to their room while Snape hurried to Dumbledore's office. They were ushered through the tapestry and she said a few words – he didn't remember, nor did he care, what they were.

And she left.

There was a long, drawn out, tense silence. He felt like everyone was sizing everyone else up, like they were all standing on a precariously tall stack of blocks and were deciding who to lunge at first, to bring down.

"I-I'm sorry." Hermione said softly in a raspy voice. He looked over at her. With her puffy eyes, the tracks where tears had trickled down her cheeks, the devastated, guilty look in her eyes, the way she hunched her shoulders as though to protect herself from something behind her. "I-I- this is m-my fault."

Disgust took over his body and he couldn't even look at her. She blamed herself? She didn't do anything! Merlin, the potion didn't kill Pansy! It was that stupid Mathew! That stupid, conniving shi-

"No its not." Harry said stonily. "You didn't cast the spell, did you? Did you say the incantation? Were you the one who let that stupid stream of green light hit her and murder her? Were you the one wh-"

"Please, Harry, stop it." She said feebly and miraculously he did. There was a silence. "Blaise? Malfoy are…"

He couldn't bear it. He couldn't stay there anymore in the horrible, awkward silence made by four people, not five. He couldn't stand then pressing guilt emanating off the Gryffindors, suffocating him. He couldn't be near Blaise, not with the pain radiating off him. Or his own agony, the loss of someone missing, whose presence he'd never wanted more in his life.

He turned and walked into his room, ignoring the sound of Hermione's tears as his own overcame his face.

-

-

There was an assembly that evening, and Dumbledore gave the students the news. It had almost completely circulated what had happened, but there were still gasps, a horrified silence and tears after he told them.

Perhaps most shockingly, to the rest of the school, was the openly pained crying from the Slytherins. Even after Harry and his friends had taken down a bunch of their parents or relatives, gotten them arrested and separated families they'd all been closed off. They'd suffered together, away from the school.

But the loss of one of their own… The school couldn't have expected them to endure that in private. And, somehow, over the next few days, as the Slytherins tried to withdraw, people from other houses reached out for them.

He hadn't realized the full significance of the assignment, not even when Blaise clung to Harry (and Harry let him) and (when he could) Gavin like lifelines, until he saw Lisa Turpin, a Ravenclaw, holding Theodore Nott. Something strange welled up inside him and he clutched her tightly at the memorial service that was held the next day. And then Susan Bones with her arm around Millicent's shoulder. And Melissa with Dean, holding hands with grave expressions, and Seamus with his hand resting on Goyle's shoulder, Padma Patil comforting Crabbe…And, perhaps even stranger, Ginny Weasley was with Miranda Prilscut, rubbing her shoulders a she cried. Colin Creevey walking with two fourth years. And others…the apparent unity they had shown – had developed over the course of the project – was affecting everyone else, not just the Gryffindors.

_Dumbledore will be so proud. _He thought bitterly, but somehow he turned away from Hermione's voice and comforting embraces. He didn't know why, because she felt guilty over something that was his fault? Because she shouldn't be trying to comfort him, not when they were all hurting?

Sometimes, he thought that he might be hurting her even more but shying away from her, but couldn't bring himself to think like that.

-

-

Her funeral was held the next week.

The assignment had been disbanded for that week, the spells taken off them, but most of them stayed with their partners anyway. _Partners. Only partners. There's no group of three anymore. Even numbers. _

He spent most of the time alone in his room – not his dormitory, he wouldn't go into the Slytherin Common Room. He'd tried, but when it came to the divide of girls and boys, he'd turned and ran away – but the room he had in their quarters.

He hadn't spoken to anyone in awhile. His room looked like a mess. Crumpled up paper was everywhere. Clothes were strewn across the floor and his bed had fresh ink blots on it from the previous night.

'_I feel honored to speak on behalf of not only Pansy's friends here at Hogwarts, but on her life here at Hogwarts. Pansy was a great friend, as far as friends go in Slytherin'_

'_She was an amazing friend, and person. I keep expecting to see her, everywhere I go, smiling at me or insulting me, but I never do'_

'_Her loss was a great tragedy, but it is safe to say it will be avenged…Well, it probably won't, because'_

Were some of his attempts at writing a speech for her funeral. Her parents had approached him at the memorial…

**FB**

_There was black everywhere. Black veils over eyes, and faces. Hats with wide brims pulled down. Black dresses, trousers, shoes, button ups shirts, ties…There were large tables by the lake, full of pictures in picture frames and photo albums. Some of her prized work at Hogwarts, small, sentimental things, birthday cards…_

_His parents had found him near the beginning and his mother hugged him tightly. "Oh, my Draco."_

_His father stared at him and then hugged him, too. "We're so glad you're okay."_

"_Okay? Okay?" He said acidly, "I am not okay. My friend has been murdered, how could I be okay?"_

_There was shock in their expressions. Perhaps his time with the Gryffindors so near was affecting him more closely then he'd realized. Or it could be grief, working its way out of his system by anger._

"_Lets go pay our respects." Narcissa suggested and took his hand, squeezing it. She had black gloves on, but it was strangely comforting. His father placed a hand on the small of her back and led them towards the Parkinsons, standing arm in arm across from another couple._

_When the got close, he recognized Hermione standing with them in front of those who could only be her parents. The man was tall, with the same nose and shape of eyes and, and her mother was about a head shorter with curly blonde hair and the same jaw. _

"_We are so sorry to hear your loss." Mrs. Granger said, "We've never met, but Hermione knew her and – we just want you to know you're not alone in this. Anything you need."_

_Here were people who didn't even know the Parkinsons, offering their support so earnestly. Of course, the invitations had been open, anyone who knew Pansy. But these were people who would have been ridiculed, looked condescendingly on if the circumstances were different, and yet, still…_

_He felt a lump in his throat as Hermione smiled weakly, tears in her eyes. Her bushy hair was drawn into a tight bun and she looked so worn. It felt strange not to be with her all the time. She had a black dress on, and black tights and black shoes, with a black coat. It was so cold out, yet she didn't seem bothered by it at all. He stared._

"_Let's come back in a few minutes." He croaked and Hermione turned at the sound of his voice, as did June and Haverdo, Pansy's father._

"_Oh, Draco, darling." June hurried over to him and took his hands in hers. They were cold, thin and chapped with cold. "We're so glad you've come…Narcissa." She turned to his mother, whose face was scrunched up slightly in an effort not to cry. He knew because he did the same thing._

"_June," Narcissa said, sounding choked, "I don't have words…"_

_The two friends embraced and his father spoke to Haverdo, offering consoling words. He couldn't stand it, he couldn't deal with anything else. Not his normally frozen parents, doing their best to retain collectiveness and almost failing. Not Hermione's parents, looking over with grave expressions or Hermione, wiping her eyes and looking at _him_._

"_I-I'll go look at this." He pointed to one of the tables with the fewest cards and pictures and hurried over to it, not bothering to pull his scarf tighter as wind went down his coat and sent goose bumps running over his chest._

_He looked at a picture and picked it up. The glass was slightly frosted, but the image was still clear. Pansy sat on a tree near her home – he knew the tree, he'd climbed it once to help her down when she got stuck and broke his arm falling out of it – smiling up from her book. He'd never known that she read very much. Did she read all summer? Had he never known many things about her?_

_He put it down and picked up the next one. The lump in his that expanded painfully. He, and Blaise and Theodore were all in her backyard at her fourteenth birthday, after everyone else was gone and she'd grabbed Blaise's hand and began to dance with him. He'd grudgingly let her and then began laughing, enthusiastically leading a waltz. Why hadn't he gotten up to dance with her? Had she wanted him to? What if he hadn't gone to that birthday, like he'd wanted to, and was forced to go by his mother? Would she have missed him?_

_He put it down and tore off his gloves to look at the photo album. His parents were still with the Parkinsons, though the Grangers were gone. His hands shook as he looked through her baby pictures, eyes glazing at the happiness in the pictures. Everyone else probably thought pure-bloods had cold upbringings. How wrong they were. Everything was an illusion. _

_It grew harder as she got older, because he started popping up with her, and Blaise, and occasionally Millicent and Theodore. He was glad the other, repulsive girls from Slytherin she used to hang out with weren't in here. He looked up, wondering if they were even here._

_They were. Huddled together but the table with a large picture of Pansy on it, sobbing over a picture in a frame._

_He looked back at the album._

_For some reason, his face felt very cold. And the quality of the pictures began to decrease, starting from when she stood at home in her new robes, holding a new wand, beaming beautifully at the camera and waving it around._

_Someone stopped beside him and took his hands. "Put your gloves back on, please. Your hands will freeze." _

_Hermione rubbed his hands to get the blood flowing and then put his gloves on for him. She looked up at his face and smiled a weak smile. With her right hand she reached up and wiped his cheeks, just under the eye, where his tears had frozen._

_Oh. So the quality of the pictures hadn't changed. The quality of his eyesight had._

_He couldn't looked at her. Not when self disgust began to eat away at him, again. "I'm sorry, Malfoy. I know you'll never be able to forgive me, but please – please just look at me."_

_He didn't understand. That didn't make much sense. " Forgive you?"_

"_Yes," she said, her voice thick and her eyes imploring, still holding his hands. "I-I-I'm sorry, so s-sorry for what I did, but if you can't _look_ at me, you're s-so _repulsed_ I just don't-"_

"_You think I'm mad? Disgusted by you? Hardly." He said, a bit of anger exploding within him. Could she be any more stupid? Was this all about her, then? All her remorse, because he was upset about his friend? "I'm disgusted with myself not you." Not yet._

"_Draco," Haverdo's voice said near his ear. "We have a favor to ask of you. For Pansy."_

_He turned away from Hermione. "Anything."_

_He saw his parents exchange glances behind Haverdo's back. "We'd like you to…to say a little something at her…her…her funeral. It doesn't have to be long, of course, just something."_

"_Something about how she was at Hogwarts." June said, almost pleading. "So we know she was happy. Until the end. You've always been her friend…"_

_That was a stab to the heart. He hadn't always been her friend. He hadn't always been nice to her. He hadn't protected her. Harry Potter had tried to jump in the way of the curse, meant for Hermione, maybe, but he'd just stood there. He hadn't saved her._

"_Of course." He said slowly. It was the least he could do. Even though she deserved so much more._

_They'd stayed for several more hours, his parents with him, talking to others and trying to comfort June and Haverdo. Finally, they had to leave. He wasn't sure he wanted to know why._

"_Draco, be safe." His father said quietly, eyes full of warning. "We don't want…we don't want it to be you next."_

_Next? Like they were expecting this to happen again? Like it was a common occurrence to have murderers in the castle trying to kill students – and it didn't count with Harry._

_How sick was this life? He had to make an exception for one person, because all the murderers in the castle had been intent on destroying him. _

"_We're proud of you. We love you. I love you." Lucius said and he didn't feel a glow of pleasure or pride, as he usually did. "We'll see you at the funeral."_

"_Yes," Narcissa hugged him to her. "I love you, my Draco. Be safe."_

_He shrugged and she released him. "And Draco?"_

"_Yes?" He replied, because she would expect him to._

"_Say what you need to say. For Pansy. We support you, in whatever choice you make." She said softly, so low he didn't think Lucius had heard and brushed a piece of hair out of his eye. _

"_Goodbye, Mother, Father." He said and they nodded, before turning and leaving him._

**EFB**

He hadn't been able to find the right words in four days. He hadn't slept; he'd barely paid attention in class; he was so preoccupied with his thoughts. And what his mother's were. She'd said, 'say what you need to say.' And that they supported him in whatever choice he made? What choices did he have?

He pulled himself off his bed and went back into the Common Room, kicking off his shoes. He picked up his schoolbag and turned back again.

Hermione was on the couch, just sitting, her knees pulled up to her chest and her eyes staring, as though into the distance. She didn't look at him, though she seemed conscious. Her brows furrowed and her eyes fell closed.

He walked by her quickly, hoping she wouldn't open them and see him. As he shut the door to his room again he thought he heard a sigh.

_It's almost as though she's waiting for me to say something. Something in particular. What can I say, though? 'Sorry, Granger, for being mad at you and avoiding you because its easier then realizing what I want around you?'_

He froze. _Wait…_

Feeling the first bit of excitement and anticipation for about four days, he ran to his desk, snatched up his quill and a bit of parchment and began to write.

-

-

It was hard to believe Christmas was coming. The halls were decorated like every year, though it was only the second week into December – and the House Elves had added a few holiday-like dishes to their meals. And it wasn't because it wasn't cold – quite the opposite, really, fires were crackling merrily in their pits. No, it was the mood of the school. There were not many excited whispers, people didn't hurry between classes due to cold, it was due to a fear that if you lingered, someone would come for you. There was supposed to be a Quidditch match, but it was cancelled for Pansy's funeral. The third cancellation that year, and no one protested.

Exams were nearly upon them, and yet Hermione, who he'd expected to be nearly psychotic with nerves and fury at not beginning studying early, wasn't much different, she just had a habit of muttering things under her breath and having eyes bloodshot from tiredness. He knew it was only because of…of Pansy, that she was controlling herself.

After he wrote his speech, he rolled it up and put it into his drawer. He wasn't going to change it, no matter what. Then, he got out his books and, feeling a bit better, began to study.

The school felt different, like Hogwarts itself was mourning Pansy's loss. Everything seemed a little greyer, a little duller, and a little lonelier. Or maybe that was just how he felt, and it changed the climate around him.

By the time her funeral arrived, he had mixed emotions. Horror, because this would be the end of her, for good, except in his imagination, his mind. Nervousness and anticipation, for what he'd written and how those attending would react. Sadness, for the obvious reason. Depression, as he'd been feeling constantly, again, for the obvious reason. And, somehow, by some miracle, a bit of excitement stirred down there, too. To see _her_ face, to what she would do when she saw what he was doing.

He changed slowly into his black dress robes. His parents had given them to him at the memorial service for her funeral. The crisp, black material made his skin feel strange, and he shudder involuntarily. Then, he combed his hair and then, in frustration, ran his fingers through it and left it falling naturally. He pulled on his shoes, tucked his wand into his pocket and pulled out the parchment from the drawer and ventured out.

He had two stops to make, two very, very important stops. The first was Pansy's room. The second was Dumbledore's office.

And then he would go to his best friend's funeral.

-

-

"Pansy was a wonderful student, girl and peer." Snape continued, his voice not exactly warm with emotion. but less chilling and frosty. "While her accomplishments weren't constant, they were grand and I think she took pride in that. Rightly so."

He sat in the front row with his parents. His mother was wearing a black veil, cleverly made to let you see the shape of her eyes but not the emotion in them. His father sat in dress robes on his other side, head tall, long hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

Her body lay in an ornately carved coffin, made of the same wood as her wand, oak. He couldn't bear to look in it, but his mother told him she looked peaceful with her wand on her chest. She wore her school robes.

The minister had already spoken, and then the speeches had begun. Her parents and Snape had spoken. Next would be Dumbledore, and then he would finished off the proceedings. They'd arranged it so her parents, and very rightly so, would speak first about her. And then her Head of House, for studies, attitude and accomplishments. Then Dumbledore would speak of something like her choices deciding her accomplishments, and the impact she had on the school. And lastly, him, so he could be coherent (it was hard to listen to the Parkinson's grief) and personal. He was 'the friend.' The one who was supposed to share the anecdotes, and the bad times they'd gotten through. He was supposed to make them laugh through their tears, and cry so hard they laughed. His would, no doubt, be the longest.

"Thank you, Pansy Parkinson, for being such a splendid human being." Snape said to the picture beside the podium and stepped off, looking a bit melted in expression.

Dumbledore got up and Draco didn't look over to the section the Hogwarts students (unless their parents were there) sat, to see if he had done what he'd requested. He didn't want to think about it, just yet. The Headmaster strode onto the stage with a limberness defying his age and turned, looking first at the picture and second at the crowd. He didn't look especially at Draco, or make some significant gesture.

"As the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I have seen many students come and go. There have been the shining figures, full of hope and life. There have been those who have made wrong decisions, and those worthy of superb attention. Pansy was neither.

"Pansy Parkinson did not change the world. Would she have? We will never know. _Could_ she have? Yes, I quite think she could have." He said and smiled, not a brilliant smile, but one of a person admitting something special. "She was not a girl who did many amazing things, but the things she did do, as Severus said, were worthy of intense pride. She affected those around her, not always positively, but in ways that would help them shape themselves into better people, as wholes."

Draco's hands were shaking and he tried not to look at the parchment, or think about it, or touch the silky material centimeters away from his hand. He stared straight ahead, looking impassive. His heart was beating faster, was racing to beat something he didn't know. Perhaps Dumbledore. Maybe it would just beat faster and faster until her collapsed, and Dumbledore wasn't done, and then he wouldn't have to talk.

And he would be with Pansy.

If he died he would see Pansy again. The thought nearly made his chest implode, like his heart was trying to suck all his organs into it. But the thing was, he wasn't ready to die. He didn't want to die. And he didn't need to see Pansy to remember her, to know her and to…to love her. He knew that she wouldn't see that as betrayal.

People started clapping and he realized with sick horror that the Headmaster was climbing down the stairs. He began to gasp in breaths and his mother and father turned, alarmed.

"Draco?" She asked, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." He was embarrassed by the tremor in his voice. "Fine."

People were whispering, wondering why no one else had gone on stage. There was one more. One more speaker.

He thought of just staying where he was. It would be so easy. Pretend like he'd forgotten, and when no one went up everyone else would just get up.

But, one image filled his head. Hermione's face. He sucked in another breath and stood up. He wanted to see her reaction to his words. To see it, and feel what he should feel.

Every single part of his body shook with fear and nervousness. His palms were sweaty and he wiped them on his robes. Who cared about etiquette anymore? His life, the rest of his life, rested in his hand. On a piece of parchment.

_Hermione, though. Think of what she'll look like. Her brown eyes, lit up in wonder, maybe, for your bravery. She'd like you to be brave. To make the right choice. Her lips, her perfect lips, will break out into a smile and her soft skin will glow with awe at what you've done. _He closed his eyes, wondering where along the lines he'd found it acceptable to think about her that way.

And then he was facing the crowd. All the Hogwarts students, quite a few parents and friends of Pansy's family. He looked sideways at her picture. It was a close up on her face from the collarbone up and she was smiling. She looked happy. She raised a hand and waved at him, beaming.

He sucked in a breath and put down the parchment. He unrolled it and made sure it and the material he had wouldn't fly away. It was windy. He was counting on that, but it would be nice if it didn't fly away while he was talking.

"I-I'm Draco Malfoy." He said into the ElectroSpeak, a strange contraption that projected your voice loudly without the use of a _Sonorus_ charm. "I'm a friend of Pansy's." He gulped and his eyes scanned the audience. There was no way they couldn't hear his nervous breathing. He couldn't find Hermione.

Someone coughed and he cleared his throat, looking down again. "W-well, Pansy…" He looked up again and saw several embarrassed faces. His eyes scanned quickly and then – a smile touched his lips, a small one – as he saw a pile of bushy hair, near two heads of vibrant red. For some reason, knowing that she was there gave him strength. How cheesy.

"If Pansy were here today, she would probably say I look like my best friend just died." He said with a voice still a bit shaky. "She would fix it in an instant. And, well, then we would go about our daily routines. But the truth is, that my best friend _has _died. And so I can't just go about my daily life, like she isn't gone.

"I guess…well, there might be other people, a bit more fitting to do this than me." He said and gestured to the Zabinis, a few chairs over from his mother. "Blaise, for one. He was friends with her too. He was closer to her, in her last days then I was. Maybe Millicent, she was her roommate for six years. And, Milli," he swallowed, because he knew Pansy always used to call Millicent that, "if you need help going back into that room for the first time, or any time, just come and get me, alright? I'll sneak up there. Because, er," he swallowed back the lump in his throat and exhaled right into the ElectroSpeak , "because you don't need to feel alone, and Pansy knew that. That's why she chose you as her friend. And that's why she cherished you."

He saw Millicent wipe her eyes and had to look away. "And, you know, she actually became good friends with you, Potter, over the last month and a half." He looked over to where the Gryffindors were sitting – it was easier to find, because he knew the direction and the two Weasleys with them had bright red hair.

"I can't imagine why, I still think you're a prick." He chuckled thickly, disguising a bit of hysteria in it. Or perhaps showing them how close to hysterics he was. "Well, maybe not so much. She must have found something good in you, so if you ever need someone to give your ego a kick, call on me." There was a bit of laughter. "And, you, Granger, she trusted you to the end."

Someone tall sat in front of her, so he only saw some of her face. "And she was right in doing so, because you are one of the most wonderful human beings I've ever met. Pansy saw that in you, and that's why she cared for you."

He did see her bury her face in her hands. "And Theodore, Pansy always loved you, you know that. You made her happy, and she deserved to be happy. She always was."

He paused again and his eyes swept the crowd. It was easier, at the beginning of his speech to say these things, it was just the emotion he had to deal with. His eyes stopped on Blaise, again, and he saw Blaise back at him. "I guess I kind of skipped you, huh." He said softly, though it amplified loudly. This wasn't in his planned speech. "Well, I guess maybe I just thought it was obvious. Pansy loved you like a brother, and wherever she is now, she's glad that she had the chance to be loved by you, too. Anyone would be lucky to feel that from someone so brilliant."

Blaise nodded at him and covered his eyes.

"And you," he turned to the picture of Pansy and heard a choked noise somewhere close by. "You had the best friends in the world. You really knew how to pick them, huh?" He might have looked a bit crazy just then, talking to a picture, but it felt like he'd thought it should, while he wrote it. Like she understood, wherever she was.

He swallowed again and closed his eyes, before looking down at the parchment again. "So, I guess I said she died, right? Pansy didn't die."

A murmur passed through the crowd and he got more then one look questioning his sanity. "Pansy was murdered, we all know that. Pansy was murdered by a Death Eater, intent on revenge."

He couldn't look at his parents, instead looked over to the Gryffindors. "It would be so easy, to point fingers. I know, because ever since its hit me that she was gone I've been pointing one at myself.

"You could say, the fault was Dumbledore's, for letting LeBlanc into the castle." Expressions of shock at his statement faced him. "You could say it was the Ministry, for placing him here. You could say it was his parents, for creating him. You could say it was the Founders of Hogwarts, for creating that corridor where she was murdered in. You could say it was the whole institution, for giving us the 9th of December because that's the day it happened."

Dumbledore looked proud of him. And, surprisingly, he took pleasure in that.

"So stop blaming yourself, Granger, when you should really be blaming the Founders." He said, adding her name in as a addition. He'd never read the speech since he'd written it, but he felt like he'd memorized the whole thing. Probably because he'd never spoken such true words.

"And right now, it feels like someone cut out half my heart, and so parts of me don't work properly." He said, his face twisting as he described the pain. "Like Pansy was a vital organ to my life, but I didn't realize it until I gave it up to someone else, thinking they would need it more. But I know something for sure. And that's that Pansy will give to more people; will save someone else like she saved me. Like an organ that someone else needs. And while it hurts not to have her here anymore, she's somewhere better, now.

"And it hurts more then words can even describe, but I wish the next person great luck with her, because she's hard to manage. But she's amazing." A strange, choking noise came out of his mouth and he had to wait for a second before speaking again.

"You're probably wondering specifics, right? I'll give you an example. When I was eleven, I gave her a present for her birthday. I wrapped a ribbon around it and handed it over." He didn't smile, and no one said anything.

"Last year, I saw the ribbon around her hair." He said and saw comprehension dawn a few faces. "I asked her why she still had it; I always remember things like this. She said because it matched my eyes. Pansy and I never had a romantic relationship, and neither of us regret that, now. We were always who we were."

A lot of the woman looked like the might burst into tears at any moment and he wondered if he looked the same. It felt like it. "I said, 'Pansy, you are treading a very fine line in this world. In this day and age, romance means very little when ones wants sex, and sex only.'" He said, not surprised to find his parents' jaws drop. He hadn't thought he'd been watching them, but apparently he had.

"She slapped me over the face, called me an arrogant, two-faced sexaholic prat and said that she lied and had kept it out of convenience, so I shouldn't go getting my fat head inflated anymore." There was a circle of laughter. "Yeah. Always kept me in line. I'd do anything to have her slap me again."

It became solemn again and this was when it got hard. Really hard. Past the sentimental stuff, into the intense, dangerous and final stuff.

"The thing we all need to realize is she's not coming back. I haven't accepted that now, but someday I will. And then I'll realize that I'll never see her blue eyes light up again in my direction. She'll never get angry with me and make her face get all red. She'll never smile at me, or twist her lips back into a scowl. I'll never say no and get indignant when she asks me to paint her nails for her, and she'll never call me Drakey again, which annoys me to no end but I would love to hear now." He was crying, he realized with annoyance, but made no move to wipe his tears. "Who's the romantic now, huh, Pansy?"

He smiled crookedly at her picture for a few silent moments. "And then you also have to realize, it could have been any of us."

The silence was profound. Like someone had just done something, caused a huge explosion and everyone was rooted to the spot in fear. Except, Hermione had craned her head around the tall person and he could see her expression clearly. And he wasn't afraid anymore.

"I'm not going to lie, and say that whether or not Pansy was the one murdered is relevant. Because it was her, it is, but it wouldn't matter if I had taken her place, or Blaise, or Granger, or a Weasley, or a Bullstrode – they'd be a casualty. Because there's something greater out there that, in a flash, could take everything we want and have away.

"It could have been any of us." He repeated, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't look at his parents, or Blaise, or Theodore, or anyone. His eyes were on the parchment, not really reading the words, but knowing that they were there. "How many of us are on conflicting sides of the war? How many of us are of the side Pansy was forced to be on?

"I'm not afraid to say it, but I am ashamed that I was." He accentuated the last word slightly, though it wasn't necessary because you would have to be stupid not to understand what he was implying. "And what did we have? We weren't safe from the other side, and we weren't even safe from ourselves. So what, dignity? Not when you're lying six feet under, not when you're murdered at sixteen and not when you never had a choice. I've heard who you are is defined by your choices, and not who you share similarities with." He glanced at his father, but didn't dare look at him. "And I've made my decision.

"The only thing, Pansy," He said and turned to Pansy, "is I just wish I'd realized it earlier. With you. But just because you won't be there, doesn't mean I won't remember you. Or still care about you. Because you've always known that. And you'll still be here," he raised a hand to his chest, despite how cliché it must look.

"Someone told me once that love is like the wind; you can feel it but you can't see it," Draco continued, still talking to her picture, "well, when it's windy I'll think of you."

Then, he lifted up the silver-grey ribbon to gasps and sobs, and found himself struggling to hold back his own. "I love you, Pansy. I'll miss you."

Then he kissed it, taking a moment to inhale the smell of Lavender and Honeysuckle, before lifting his hand up high and, after a moment's hesitation, releasing it. The wind took it from him, swirling it around and carrying it higher and higher as it twisted. He stared up, long after it had disappeared.

He turned to leave. There was nothing else to say. Only one more thing he could do. The applause was loud, but no one cheered and no one stood up. He fought with his instincts, and forced his steps to change direction. There was confusion as to what he was doing clear on people's faces, perhaps he really was insane. But he ignored them.

Before he made his final choice, he looked at her. And it was like magic without a wand, without a spell, without an incantation, without words. Her eyes were alight with admiration and happiness and they shone, tears trickling down her cheeks. Perhaps they were a result of his words, perhaps not, but they were there. Her lips were parted slightly and she was smiling broadly, beaming at him. Her skin shone. It was better then he could have imagined.

And then he walked right over to Dumbledore and sat in the empty seat beside him.

**Author's Note: …Let it wash over me. –breathes deeply-**

**Is it pathetic to admit I cried when I wrote Draco's speech? Probably. I hope this wasn't too cliché and cheesy and all that. :)**

**So… My wonderful friend Geegee, a.k.a Q8iya has a story. The new chapter I just went over (I'm her beta), is INTENSE! Its called The Final Year of Fun and Fear, check it out! She's got loads going on with it, so you really should look into that!**

**Also, my friend Hannah Longbottom has one as with, which is totally worth reading. The first is called Tangled Up, which is really really brilliant.**

**Review review review!**


	29. One More Week

Author's Note:

**Author's Note: **

**It's been OVER two years since I started this story! I didn't even realize, but my last update was five days before the official two year mark! It was August 12****th****! So yeah. Excitement! Though I can't quite believe it's been two whole years…The summer after I left grade seven! How strange to think, now I'm going into grade ten... I keep thinking there's been some sort of error…**

**OK, and near the end, the quotations from the chapter 'Betrayal' will be in italics and have '' on them. Yeah? It's just there's also a thought almost right after one, so it will NOT have '' around it. Yeah? I hope it's not confusing. **

**Anyways, so my birthday is the 19****th**** and while there are only four days until then, and I was going to update on that day, I decided not to wait and do it today! Lets say its my early birthday present to myself! I'll be fifteen. I can finally claim to be a good age! Half of thirty. Strange how you want to keep getting older, and then isn't thirty the general year you wish time would stop and you would get younger?**

**Disclaimer: I'm still so glad that I'm not Stephenie Meyer and don't own Breaking Dawn that this only hurts a little to write! (If anyone wants to rant, feel free to click the 'Send Message' button on my profile!)**

Hermione was pacing back and forth in front of the couches in their Common Room. Harry and Blaise were sitting next to each other, staring at the fire. Ginny was beside Harry, leaning on him. Ron was on the other couch, looking at his hands and Theodore Nott (who'd knocked on their door nervously and asked to come in) sat on the floor, leaning against the couch's armrest. Under immensely different circumstances, it might have been funny to see that Blaise had picked up Harry's habit of watching the fire, and how Ron wasn't at all disturbed by Theodore's presence. But not today.

She felt so many things at once; her mind was in a disarray. There was a deep, low sadness in mourning for Pansy. But it was smaller than before, and she might have felt very guilty, but didn't as much anymore. It wasn't a selfish reason, but there weren't really words to explain why she knew she shouldn't feel like that anymore. She was letting go of her guilt and defiance and hurt at Pansy's death very, very, very slowly. But it was going, and she knew that it would take a long time, not to cry when she thought of the girl, and remembered the few decent conversations they'd had.

But they would all get through it. And they would do it together. She felt like it was important to be around Draco, even though he was quite antisocial and often locked in his room, just as Blaise felt compelled to be with Harry, despite Gavin's regular visits.

Then there was the pride, the admiration and the happiness all molded together. She kept replaying Draco's speech, his words, his eyes and his emotions in her head. She'd felt what he'd said, everything, deep inside her. And then, when he'd sat beside Dumbledore, she'd burst into a fresh round of tears.

The things he'd done, the things he'd said! He'd publicly stood up and denounced any support to the Dark Lord. He'd said things others wouldn't have dared to, and he'd shown them things most of them would never have thought on their own. And most importantly, he'd let Pansy go in happiness. When he'd lifted up the ribbon – she'd been holding Ginny's hand so tightly it hurt them both – she thought she might have even seen two hands, reaching back down to him.

His words had…they'd been so emotional, so strong. She'd never heard him talk like that before, and it was beautiful. And when he'd stepped off the stage…he'd looked at her. And she'd seen so much in his face, part of her believed a bit of what he'd said had been for her. The thought made her very happy.

After that, people had stood up and she'd looked at her friends. They'd stared back at her, and finally Harry spoke. "You changed Draco Malfoy, Hermione."

Of everything, she hadn't expected that. "No I didn't." Her voice shook, "Didn't you listen? This was all for Pansy."

"And he looked at you, didn't _you_ see?" Ginny asked, wiping her eyes. "Hermione, I don't like the git, obviously, but someone who has _that_ inside them…"

"Look," Ron said softly and she followed his gaze. Draco was being approached by his parents, whose faces were both closed off. Dumbledore stood beside him, and after a few words they all turned and walked up to the castle.

"We should go and wait for him to come back." Hermione said, realizing what was going on. They were discussing their options. What Draco had said would get back to Voldemort, and he would target the Malfoys, their whole family, for such disloyalty. They were going to figure out what they could do to stay alive.

They'd walked, Hermione feeling a bit numb, up to the castle, through the corridors and to their common room. It was unreal. She felt like something had just altered the course of her life; had changed it in the blink of an eye. As though Draco's words were her own.

With a strange leap of her stomach she realized why. A part of her knew her life was linked with Draco's now, irreversibly, and such a large impact on his must inevitably change her own. How silly, to remember that their whole relationship, further than the archenemy one they'd had before, was because Professor McGonagall had asked her to somehow make him change his opinion of Voldemort. She'd said that his family was influential enough that if their loyalties shifted, others would as well.

It had seemed stupid, then, but she'd felt her duty to the Order would indefinitely overpower how she felt about Draco. In the end, she'd nearly dismissed the Order and had done what she wanted. And apparently, what she wanted was Draco.

It was a series of hits to her life. Pansy was murdered. Draco switched sides, by choice. She felt connected to Draco. She wanted Draco. And what would the next one be?

_I fancy him. _A miserable voice in her head said. _I don't just feel connected. I want to feel connected, because I'd like there to be some sort of future for us. I want to be near him. If he doesn't feel that way…We almost have a friendship, I'd say. I could live with that._

_A fine time to realize that. _A voice said bitterly. _I don't want him to think this is a result of what happened with Pansy. Its not. It's a result of me, not realizing what I want at appropriate times._

"They've been forty five minutes." Blaise said softly, his voice scratchy. She almost jumped. The rushes of feelings and realizations had made her forget she wasn't alone. She looked at everyone, sure they could hear what she was thinking. Sure they knew…

No one answered. She continued wearing holes into the floor, worrying her bottom lip and wringing her hands anxiously. _What's happening? Are the Malfoys protesting what he wants? Are they going to take them to the Order? How are things going?_

Time passed in strange cadences of very fast and very slow. Everything would speed up, the flames in the fireplace, their breathing, and then someone would shift and it would go perilously slow, each ripple of the fire taking ages to undulate.

Or perhaps it was just her mind, the fast parts as her mind raced to accept all the new changes she'd made to her mental ideas, the few good situations she could think up and the many bad. And then the slow parts as her mind floated through her newfound feelings, thoughts of scenarios that showed how blind she had been to her emotions, and how obvious it must have been that she felt romantic things for him.

Ginny fell asleep and Harry wrapped an extra arm around her waist so he could support all her weight. Theodore changed positions so he lied down, facing the ceiling and Ron took to glancing at the door every so often.

But nothing happened. Sometimes she was so certain she heard footsteps she stiffened and floundered for a position to stand in, what would be appropriate? When someone noticed someone else staring at the door they would all turn, anticipation building until they were sure the door was opening – only to suffer severe disappointment when it didn't.

She kept pacing as minutes ticked by. Even when Blaise began to lean against Harry, too, and Theodore moved to rest his head in his hands, staring right at the door. Ginny woke up and curled up like a cat in the corner of the couch, resting her head on the back of the couch, now.

She kept thinking of Draco's face, of everything she'd learned about him throughout the assignment. And something horrible occurred to her.

'''_How long is this assignment for?' Padma Patil asked._

'_As long as it takes.' Was the ominous reply; several people exchanged confused looks.'_

Their potions assignment had been cover-up so she could get closer to Draco, which she knew. But…Draco had officially made up his mind to support the 'good' side, the Order. Did that mean that her job was done? That the potions assignment cover-up was over? That…

That things would go back to normal?

She shuddered away from that thought. No, she wasn't ready yet! If it was over…the unreal haze that had been surrounding her the past few months would be gone…Any hopes of getting closer to Draco would be gone. There would be nothing she do. She couldn't just come over and have a meal with him at the Slytherin table. She couldn't just sit next to him in class. She wouldn't get to share a Common Room, and see him every day and be forced to visit Hogsmeade together and…

It was over. Completely over. Everything was changing so fast that she couldn't get a grasp on it all. The door opened and everyone turned. She wasn't ready, she needed more time now!

First came Professor Dumbledore, then Professor Snape, then Professor McGonagall and then the Malfoys. She tried to get a good look at Draco, but his parents were standing on either side of him, their hands resting on his shoulders, and Professor Snape stood slightly in front.

"Ah, children, I see you've waited." Dumbledore said, his eyes surveying them all. "This is good, as there is something very important I need to discuss with you." His gaze rested on Blaise, still leaning against Harry and then Theodore, who sat up.

"Mr. Nott, Mr. Zabini, perhaps if I could ask you to come with me? There is something I'd like to discuss with you." Snape stepped forward, still blocking Draco.

"No, thanks." Theodore said, standing up and shifting into a defensive position. "I've been waiting years for something to defy my father with. This is it. I'm with Draco."

"And the Zabinis have always been neutral." Blaise said, eyes hard. "I'd say its time to pick a side."

The Malfoys – Draco's parents, anyway – looked shocked. Apparently they hadn't realized how rebellious the Slytherins could be. Or how an undercurrent of doubt and fear had probably been floating around with them all.

"Thank you, but I'm afraid it is imperative-"

"No," Theodore said, cutting him off and Hermione couldn't help looking at him in surprise. She'd hardly ever heard him speak. "I'm with Draco. It's what he said, I want a choice. Pansy won't have…she won't be gone in vain. I'm willing to give up everything I have, I'll never see my father again, and I won't go spilling the secrets to him."

"Neither will I. I'm with Harry and Draco." Blaise said firmly and Hermione realized with another start that he could be with both, now. But was it really Blaise she was talking about?

"Albus-" Professor Snape turned to the Headmaster, who was watching the students.

"Severus." He turned to the Potions Master, "I believe them. They can stay."

"Are you quite sure?"

"My confidence is well placed, Severus. You know this." They shared a long look and Professor Snape nodded in assent, looking annoyed.

"You realize that as soon as this is announced publicly, you will be in danger? Associating with Mr. Malfoy will be clear enough to those who care. Your families will be targets, and you may be too, even in this school? This decision will impact the rest of your lives."

"I don't give a damn if my father is killed," Theodore said, "and my mother's already dead, so who gives a flying fuck?"

Draco's parents looked aghast at this statement and she bit her lip to keep down a peal of hysterical laughter.

"My mother has enough contacts and money to be hidden anywhere in the world by tomorrow." Blaise said without hesitation, "We can protect ourselves."

Dumbledore smiled at them. "Very well, boys. Professor Snape will speak to both of you-"

They both stiffened and looked at Snape with hostile, defiant looks. No doubt they were aware that he was spying. They didn't know which side he was spying for, though.

"I can assure you that everything you think of Professor Snape will have changed in the next hour." Dumbledore said kindly. "If it appeases you, I will be there also."

Though neither of them would admit it, they both relaxed slightly and the room fell silent. Everyone looked at the Malfoys.

"The Malfoys will no longer be involved with Voldemort." Dumbledore said, to many flinches and twitches. "It isn't safe to have them returning, they do not have the mental barriers strong enough, as Severus does. There are people setting up a safe house for Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, and Severus will be secret keeper. Draco will continue his schooling, and on breaks will return with you." He looked at Harry, Ron, Ginny and her, "To the Order headquarters."

"What?" Draco asked loudly. "You're separating me from my parents?"

Evidently, that fact hadn't been shared with him.

"Draco," Professor Snape began, "Keeping you together permanently isn't reasonable. You will still see them, but staying for periods of more than three days-"

"This is a joke, right?" He pulled away from his parents and turned to face them. "You're not leaving me?"

"Draco," Lucius said in a would-be-calm voice but for the nearly hysterical teen in front of him voice, "We understand this is hard, but its for your own safety. If they got through the prot-"

"I would fight with you! I would fight _for _you, as a family should!" He burst out, staring at them as though they'd accused him of murdering Pansy himself.

"No, it wouldn't be safe." Narcissa said, her veil still in place.

"So I'm supposed to sit around, wondering if people are killing you all the time?" He snapped, taking a step away from them. They remained still.

"Draco, for the most part we'll be telling the Order as much as we know and can remember about the Dark Lord's activates. It would be incredibly boring." Lucius said, trying to play to Draco's sensibilities.

Apparently they thought Draco was still the whiny, arrogant son they'd used to have. Hermione would have thought any feelings of that would have been dispelled by his speech for Pansy.

"I don't care. I want to be with you." He said, a hint of desperation edging into his tone.

"Draco, Theodore and Blaise will probably be with you." Narcissa said, trying to placate her son.

"No, Blaise will probably be with his mother, where he wants to be!"

She saw Blaise shake his head slightly from the couch from the corner of her eye.

"Draco, be reasonable."

"Be reasonable?" He shouted, "You're telling me to go hole up somewhere else, without you and just pretend like things are normal, and okay, and that it isn't my fault we're being separated, and I put a death sentence over our heads and I don't care what happens to you?"

"It wouldn't be like that." Lucius said, pleading with him. She felt like she was intruding on something too private for her, which she was, but no one could move. She couldn't do anything but stand there and stare as the Malfoy family underwent an emotional crisis.

"Draco, it will be fine, you don't need to worry about anything. You'll be safe, that's all that matters, isn't it?"

"Do you even know me!?" Draco screamed at them and Hermione flinched, taking a step forward. How strange. Wouldn't instinct tell her to back up? What was she going to do, comfort him? With a feeling of dread she realized it was exactly what she'd intended to do.

"Draco!" Narcissa cried out, reaching for him. "Please, just listen-"

"Don't touch me." He spat, pulling himself away and backing into the couch Ron was sitting on. "I thought family was supposed to stick together. Isn't that one of the Malfoy's stupid family laws? Not, 'when things get rough lets abandon the one who can't fight back!' How can you even _think_ of doing this to me?"

"It's for your own good." Narcissa said, sounding extremely distressed.

"No its not! My own good would be having my parents with me!"

"Draco, be reasonable. We-"

"Mr. Malfoy," Harry said quietly and Draco turned violently to him, eyes wild. "Parents shouldn't leave their kids unless they've got to."

Lucius glared at Harry and Hermione wondered how they felt about Voldemort's ideals. They probably still hated Harry, and muggleborns and muggles, but their love for Draco was stronger. They would give up everything for him, she realized, as long as he was safe.

"If we may continue this later?" Severus inserted calmly, and Draco turned to him, his back still pressed against the sofa. "There are things that need to be discussed."

There was a long silence, and Hermione could almost feel Draco's desperation not to be separated from his parents, and Narcissa's not to leave him and Lucius's to not see the changes taking place in his son, where he could do nothing to stop them.

"The Malfoys are going to give us as much information as they can on Voldemort's activities." Dumbledore said, looking at Harry now. "Hopefully it will provide illumination on certain subjects we have…discussed."

"How do we know we can trust them?" Ron asked, glaring with hate at Mr. Malfoy. Hermione felt their love for Draco was enough, that if he chose to change sides, they would do whatever it took for him to be safe. Apparently, Harry understood this as well, but of course Ron wouldn't, not with Lucius's attempt to murder his sister still fresh in his mind, even after four years.

"That is a private matter, Weasley." Lucius said, his lip curling back and Ron's hands balled into fists.

"Private like you trying to get my sister killed?" He retorted and Harry hand snaked out protectively to Ginny's.

"If you can't control yourself, Weasley, then leave." Snape drawled and Ron glared at him, but went silent. His jaw was clenching and unclenching.

"It is imperative that none of you mention the Malfoys at all." Dumbledore continued, unfazed. "Act like you know nothing of them and their situation."

"Is Malfoy going to be gone from school?" She asked, her chest tightening painfully.

"No, but the more you let on that you know, the more danger you and your friends and the Malfoys are in. I am here to request that you keep an eye on Mr. Nott, Zabini and Malfoy. We've decided not to remove them from the Slytherin Dormitory."

She bit her lip in worry, not caring if they swelled up from all the biting she was doing. Wouldn't it be dangerous to keep them there? If she thought about it, it did make sense, to keep them in there, so anyone who felt like they wanted to change alliances could go to them. But that was assuming that they_ would_ be in there, which would mean the potions assignment would be over and…

"Mr. Potter, I'd like to see you in my office and 8:00 this evening." Dumbledore said, ignorant of the looks he was being sent. "And Ms. Granger, Professor McGonagall would like to see you as well."

Harry and Ron looked at her in surprise and slight suspicion. She couldn't focus on them, all she felt was dread. _No. No, please no_. She was going to tell her that she'd done her job well, and the Order thanked her or something, and then say that the assignment was over.

There were two more days until their next potion was supposed to be. If she could somehow persuade the professor that they needed just another week, one more for…closure, it would be fine. That would give them time, assuming the potion didn't make them do something outrageous.

She remembered the note Professor McGonagall had written to her, outlining ways to get to Draco, how if the potion inspired truth she should ask his small questions with big meanings. There hadn't been one for truth. They had all been random. The first was to conform for one of the question their partners answered. The second was for him to say what his instinctive response as. The third made pieces of their mind switch bodies.

She thought back on these, the ways she was supposed to use to get to Draco. How strange that it wasn't even the potions that had made her opinion on him change – even if unwillingly at first – it had been the time in between.

"We will see you soon." Narcissa said, clasping Draco's hands.

"I thought we were going to talk about this." He said, hysteria in his voice.

"There's nothing to talk about." Lucius said and they both hugged him tightly.

"So this is it, then?" Draco asked, looking lost and she felt like she should turn away, but she couldn't, she was rooted to the spot. "You're just going to abandon me? You want me to leave you to die?"

"Draco, we're not going to die." Lucius said, still clutching him. "We'll see you at Christmas."

"Maybe, maybe not." He whispered, but it projected in the quiet room.

"Draco, we couldn't bear to lose you." Narcissa said, on arm around Draco and the other around Lucius.

"You think I could lose you?" He said back and there was another long, silent moment.

"I will go with them," Professor Snape said, "To warn others who may follow this example. And then Mr. Nott, Mr. Zabini I'll see you in my office. 8:00, then?"

They both nodded and the Potions Master turned away and opened the door. He looked back to the Malfoys, still hugging and said nothing. Finally, Narcissa tugged on Mr. Malfoy's robes and they stepped away.

"We _will_ see you, Draco." Lucius said firmly, his eyes glassy and Draco nodded.

"Goodbye, then." He said in a throaty voice.

And they left. Dumbledore nodded to them and turned as well, opening the door for McGonagall and leaving a heavy silence in their wake. Draco turned slowly and looked around at them as they watched him. "My parents are going to be murdered." Theodore and Blaise both stood up, watching him warily as he turned his gaze to the floor.

_I should say something. I should say something to comfort him. Like…like, 'maybe we can sneak you over to see them sometime!' No, that sounds stupid…And it just points out the fact that they'll be separated in the first place. We could say we'll hold them captive…no, that would worry him. If a few sixteen and seventeen year old can get through, who can't?_

Blaise walked over to where Draco was standing and stopped a few feet away, before stretching out a hand touching his shoulder. "Draco…?"

The blonde looked up and threw his arms around Blaise, pulling him close and hugging him tightly. Her jaw actually dropped a bit as he buried his face in the crook of Blaise's neck and held onto him tightly.

"We should go to dinner." Ginny whispered to Harry, who stood up and Ron followed. They all turned to her, "Are you coming?"

She had the strangest feeling of displacement. She felt drawn to where Draco stood, and yet she knew she should be going with the other Gryffindors. But she wasn't connected magically to Draco anymore. They wouldn't go flying at each other if one stepped past the acceptable limit.

"Yeah," she replied.

Before she slipped out the door she looked back at the Slytherins, where Theodore had joined them and stood beside Draco, saying something in a low voice. Draco wasn't even looking her way. What had she expected, that he would feel her lack of presence when he was so distressed by his parents'? How selfish of her.

With a short sigh she followed them out.

-

-

She experienced the strangest sense of déjà vu as she hurried down the hall to Professor McGonagall's office. The same corridor, the same time, and involving the same subject. There were differences, of course. Instead of the brisk, professional walk she'd had before she was just hurrying along, her eyes scanning the corridor and her hands in her pockets to keep out the chill. She was also three minutes late, because she had been so caught up in the dreadful cold seeping into her brain with thoughts of endings she had lost track of time. And deep down was the hollow, aching spot where Pansy's absence throbbed.

She reached the door with the name plate 'Professor McGonagall' in worn gold and knocked lightly on the door. Then she opened it and slipped inside.

"Hello, Ms. Granger." McGonagall said and gestured to the same wooden chair in front of her desk, with uncomfortable ridges.

"Er, Professor?" She asked timidly.

"Yes?" Her Head of House looked surprised.

"Could I transfigure this into a different chair? It's just, with the wood jabbing into you it's a bit hard to concentrate."

The Professor gave her a blank look. "Of course."

"Thank you." With a relieved smile she changed it into a nicely rounded chair with a cushion on the seat and back. As she sat down, she nearly sighed with content at its position. _Much better._

"Well…" Her teacher eyed her severely again and then shuffled notes on her desk. Something seemed to have caught her off guard. Hermione wondered what it could be. "As you know, the Malfoys have officially changed sides."

"Their ideals have not changed, though?" Hermione asked, hoping she didn't offend her by sort of interrupting.

"No, they have not. But their feelings for Draco will not change, and if he gets what he wants, they can live with it." The woman said, eyeing her speculatively. "So we have you to thank, Ms. Granger."

She didn't feel the glow of pleasure she might have had before. _Here it goes. This is the end. Its over. _

"The change in Mr. Malfoy is…remarkable. And in such a short period of time, too. It's astonishing."

"A lot has happened." She said, though it didn't feel like an explanation was needed.

"Yes, you are quite right. I suppose there are a few questions you would like answered?"

"Yes," She replied, though, again, it was not needed.

"Like, who was the one who had the motive to want to kill you with that potion? Who hurt you with the knife during your Defence lesson?" She paused, but Hermione said nothing. Had she not already said she wanted to know? "Theodore Nott was put under the Imperius curse both times."

She stifled a gasped, with effort. Theodore Nott? How was that even possible?

"He doesn't know, so please don't tell him. In that potions…lesson, Pansy Parkinson was being controlled through him, and so was Professor Snape."

_That doesn't make sense. If he has enough mental strength to keep out Voldemort, how could he possibly be affected so easily by the Imperius Curse? _

"He decided to let it take over his sentences for awhile, to see what the person wanted. During that time, he did not see any of the students, as he did not expect it to be them. Unfortunately, by the time it was necessary for him to break free, it took long than it should have. The longer such a curse is used with concentration, the more difficult it is to break free, unless there are periods without it on."

_That does makes sense…But wouldn't he be able to recognize the poison I was being forced to drink, and break off there? If the person was quite strong at the curse, could they really have Theodore, Pansy and Snape controlled at once?_

"Do you know who cast it? They would have had to cast it in Hogwarts, and whoever it is wouldn't have been stupid enough to sign in with the Headmaster, so how would they get in? Unless another student…but Harry is the only one with the magical strength, surely? There are only teachers left." She looked at her Professor, making it clear she wasn't ruling out teachers. Exactly what that proved, she wasn't sure.

"Mr. Nott had a very important meeting with his father a few days before the potions incident. He could have come in contact with any number of people, and there are spells to make you susceptible to certain types of magic, even from far away. But yes, they would have had to be on Hogwarts grounds." The deputy Headmistress looked a bit concerned by this fact, so Hermione deduced that they had no further information on the subject.

"I see. So…he has no idea?"

"Professor Snape is speaking with him tonight, and will find out as much as he can. It is a difficult subject to broach, especially with so recent a loss." She said and paused. When it was clear Hermione had nothing to add, she changed the subject. "There will be an announcement tomorrow morning at breakfast about the finish of the potions assignment. You will pack your things and be back in your rightful dormitories by-"

"No," she blurted out without thinking. Flushing, she continued, "I think we need one more week, one more potion."

"Ms. Granger, do you realize how much this assignment has disrupted the school this year? Continuing it when we have the results we need and enough material for a realistic potions grade is unethical."

"I know, but I think that," she fished for anything she could use. "I think we need another week, for closure. We've all been so shaken up with Pansy's-" She sucked in a breath, "I think that the school needs this. I think our year really needs a bit more time to cope with this, and to reconnect the bonds that have been shaken up."

"Ms. Granger-"

"Please," she interrupted, grasping at anything she could and finding nothing. "Please, we both know that unstable bonds are the easiest to break. All the unity we've made with the Slytherins could be broken quickly by a few corrupt words, when everything is so unclear right now. Please, Professor."

The teacher scrutinized her thoughtfully, lips pursed tightly. Finally, "One more week, then. Just one, to carry you up to exams and then its over."

"Thank you, Professor." Relief surged through her, making her fall back into the seat, limp. Awhile ago she would have been concerned with posture. Not anymore. "You won't regret this decision."

"Perhaps not." McGonagall said, eyeing her. "It is not often a teacher will make an important decision based on feelings of affection for a student, Ms. Granger. I hope you realize that."

"I do." She said, and the glow that had been absent before filled her.

"Oh, and Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson will be in tomorrow afternoon to pick up Pansy's things. They asked us to request that Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Zabini do it for them."

"I'll tell them." She promised, and she felt a dull pang of sadness hit her.

-

-

When she got back to the Common Room, it was to discover it empty. She was slightly grateful for that, because she wasn't quite sure she wanted to tell Draco and Blaise to pack up Pansy's things just yet. After pulling off her shoes she walked upstairs and pulled out her books, spreading them around her and pulling out her thick wad of study notes for Transfiguration.

There were a lot of things she still had to come to terms with. She'd admitted she fancied Draco, yes, and had ensured they have more time. But that didn't mean she was going to act on them. Could she? Was it really a relationship she wanted, or was that just her mind jumping everywhere, assuming the first thing it could? It had seemed obvious then, standing in the Common Room. Of course she wanted a relationship.

Pansy's murder was always there with her, also. She felt guilty, still, despite Draco's words in his speech. But it wasn't just the fact that Mathew had been after her. It was because Pansy had loved Draco, and it hadn't been platonic for her, as Draco thought. And now, here she was, thinking about how she'd realized she fancied Draco and was wondering if she should pursue a relationship, only days after Pansy had been murdered. How was that fair?

She thought of Pansy all the time. How unjust it was, how cruel, that a sixteen year old girl was murdered for something she hadn't done. She couldn't understand, how someone could possess so much hate that they would kill someone else, even if it was a mistake. Even if they'd meant to kill _her_ and Pansy just got caught in the crossfire.

Her relationships were always on her mind, too. Would she and Harry and Ron still be such good friends? Ron hadn't become friends with Pansy, Blaise _or_ Draco. Harry was closer to Blaise and Pansy than she was, and she didn't think he or Ron were even at a stage where they could have a civil conversation with Draco. Ginny hadn't gotten to know any of them, and she hadn't had that great of communication with the girl for awhile, except one conversation in private, one Ginny thought she was having with Hermione but it was Draco, and a few with people around them.

Going into the assignment, she'd been expecting change. She'd been _hoping_ for it, as it was the whole point of the cover-up anyway. To _cause_ it. But she hadn't thought that she would feel so changed, either. As though, in experiencing things with Draco not only had she helped to change _him,_ he'd changed her as well, completely unintentionally.

She looked down at her notes, surprised to find she had no idea what she was reading. Too lost in her thoughts, she didn't actually care all that much either. Her mind leapt to a night, where they'd all been happy and for awhile it seemed like there was nothing wrong with the world.

'_That conversation concluded with her words and Hermione zoned out as they began matching off the single people in the room with their best suitor. They reached Hermione and there was a long silence._

"_Thanks," she said sarcastically. "Am I that hard to like?"_

"_No, but there's only one name to say and you'd be mad if I said it." Ginny said, smirking._

_She and Hermione had a stare down, and then Hermione sighed. "Ugh, fine just say it."_

"_Draco!" They all chorused.'_

Was that really true? Could Draco possibly be her equal? Or was that just teenage fantasy? While it was true they were both concerned with doing their schoolwork well, but wasn't the Ravenclaw House full of people who prized intellect? And yes, he was more outgoing than her and it complimented them…well, when they were together, but lots of people were like that. It didn't mean they had to have a romantic relationship, did it? Both Ginny and Harry were quite outgoing and their relationship was one of the strongest she'd seen in awhile.

'"_-and you'd be, like, the one to change him, you know?"_

"_Do not start on that stupid every girl wants to be the one that guy changes for cliché thing. If you're going to fall in love with them, why not someone you don't want to change?"_

_They all looked exasperated. "Because that sucks."'_

She thought about that, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. But no, how silly, to imagine that this was something girls fantasized about doing. Changing someone from being a huge player and then putting him in an inclusive relationship, which he would stay faithful to was not the same thing as getting him to bring his family onto the side of a war fighting a psychopath intent on murdering people like you. It really didn't mean anything. There were several vantage points you could point out making strong cases that her reasons were purely selfish and had absolutely nothing to do with any emotion for him at all. He hadn't become a different person! He hadn't exactly even really been directly on Voldemort's side, as he hadn't been marked yet.

She shuddered at the very thought.

'"_And then he got mad, said he wasn't there to be used and stormed to his room?" The other girls were looking at Ginny curiously, wondering what she was on about._

"_Yeah."_

"_I see. So he got a whole lot more mad about you saying you would pretend it wasn't him then he did about you asking him to kiss you?"'_

She shook her head. _You can't think like this, Hermione. It will only get you into trouble._

'"_Decided to address me by my name now? Have you given up hoping you didn't want me to kiss you? Don't strain yourself, Granger. I wouldn't want you to be too concerned with a fucking Slytherin! God forbid you should even think of touching one!"_

"_Is that what you think?" Her hands stopped fumbling for the wand she didn't have. "That's not why! It was for __your__ benefit you jackass! I didn't think you would want to touch a filthy mudblood like me!"_

'"_Well you were right!" He roared.'_

She cringed from that memory. _There, right there, is proof of how nothing could ever come from you two together. It's just unrealistic to think of something like that. If I delude myself to think he might…well, I'll only end up getting hurt. Better to leave this stuff for the books._

With that she dove into her notes, intent on making sure she was completely prepared for her exams and all thoughts of romantic delusions fled her mind.

**Author's Note: It's the…shoot. Ah! Runs to check calendar OK, so it's the fifteenth right now! Eight days since my last update, and two days since I started writing this. Pretty good, right? Though, I suppose the quality could be lacking. I'm actually quite pleased. And I have to admit, Theodore's line about his mother being dead and his father getting killed…sort of my favourite line…I enjoyed writing that.**

**THANK YOU! I've gone passed 300 reviews! This is crazy! Its madness I tell you! MADNESS! I was hoping for 50 for the whole story. My fallback plan was just doing fifty chapters and hoping one person read it and reviewed for each chapter…;) So really, I'm so grateful for everyone!**

**To HOH readers, I have a poll up regarding that story, so go vote! **

**Fanfiction has the coolest thing. Its called Reader Traffic? I see you people nodding your head! OK, well it shows what countries have visited your stories and such, and I have to say, I am amazed. One more thing to add to my humungous ego. Watch out people! ;) So thanks everyone!**

**Review review review!**


	30. Learning Experience

**Author's Note: Hello, my wonderful readers! This story isn't QUITE over yet! I suppose the last chapter did seem quite closing, but there's still another potion, yet! Plus, I don't think I want to end it yet. :) I'm too attached…This is my baby! **

**I'm sorry this is so late. Truly, truly sorry! I haven't even started the chapter yet and I'm already sorry!**

**Dedicated to: lost in oblivion, ****David Fishwick****, Anon, Kae-Lae, slytherinqueen23, Anon, Zarroc, crystal stardust, Fanatic-Fan, The Last Crumpet, Precious Ink, crazyysmileshan, lacking a better name and Kagami Yuki! You guys are wonderful! (My reviewers and/or current readers I know of).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of J.K Rowling's brilliant thoughts. If I did, I would not be a seriously broke fifteen year old girl who can hardly keep her own flaming mane of hair under control.**

Hermione yawned, stretching her cramped muscles, and then made sure none of her books had been squashed. She'd fallen asleep the previous night, bent over the text, and slept right through the late hours. Judging from the small amount of light filtering through her window, it was quite early in the morning.

Her brain began to go over what she knew was coming in the next few days, even as she closed her books and shuffled her papers. She rarely slept deeply enough to so much as wrinkle them, which was a relief, as she often slept on her work.

The simplicity of her thoughts didn't last, though. It was Saturday. One week had passed since Pansy's death.

They had until Monday, where classes would pick up again. For the Sixth Years, this meant they had one more potion left, before they would try and go back to their regular lives and still retain the friendships they'd made. At that point, it would be two weeks since Pansy's death.

She had to tell Blaise and Draco to pack up Pansy's things for her parents. What time had McGonagall said they'd pick them up…? Oh. She hadn't.

She had ten days until her first exam. Fifteen until the Christmas holidays would begin. She wondered if Pansy got very stressed out about exams. She would never know.

Shaking her head and shoving her hair out of her face she snagged her bag of toiletries, a change of clothes and walked downstairs. She had her hand on the doorknob to the bathroom when Blaise's door opened. Turning, she found herself looking at Gavin instead of the one she'd expected.

Unembarrassed by his disheveled appearance, he smiled a bit at her, which told her very little had been going on. "Morning."

"Morning." She said softly. "How is he?"

"Not very well, actually. He barely slept last night, just stared at the ceiling." Gavin said, sighing wearily in a way that suggested he hadn't slept much either.

"Oh. Will he be out today?"

"I don't know. It depends on if I can get him up. He doesn't feel like doing much, you know? They were good friends."

Despite how much she knew this was about Pansy, she couldn't help but wonder if Gavin was thinking about Draco as well. "Listen, do you think you could tell him that Mrs. Parkinson…wants him to help pack away Pansy's things?"

The Ravenclaw frowned quizzically.

"I don't think…they could bear to do it themselves." She said slowly, "And I think they know that Blaise has to say goodbye, too. For good."

"Just him?"

"No, Malfoy, too." She said and tried to ignore the flash of anger on his face. "So, will you tell him? They'll be by later today."

"Sure. I'll tell him." He paused for a second. "I'm just off to get another set of robes."

"Oh," she said, nodding. "I'll see you later?"

"Probably." They nodded, before turning their separate ways. She stepped into the bathroom, dropped her bag to the floor and brushed her hair out. After turning on the water she stripped down to nothing and climbed in.

Gradually she let her emotions – especially the ones she'd been trying to repress – out – or at least she tried. She would never master the kind of control Draco had, and as she tried to take deep breaths she burst into tears. As she cried for the loss of Pansy she rested against the shower wall, using her arms to keep her balance and put her hands in her hair.

When she felt that she'd cried enough to wiped her eyes – a bit of a counterproductive movement, as water ran down her face from the shower – and quickly washed herself off. Unfortunately, she didn't feel as cleansed as she'd hoped and eventually gave up.

After she'd turned off the water the steam curled around her and she squeezed out her hair, stepping onto the mat just outside the door. Sluggishly her fingers pulled clothes over her body, already cold from the temperature of the castle, and then toweled off her hair.

She was surprised to come face to face with Draco as she stepped out of the bathroom into the Common Room. "Oh! Malfoy. Hello."

"Granger," he nodded.

"Malfoy, what you did was really brave." She said earnestly, trying to draw out their contact as long as she could. Her mind was very aware that this was the first alone conversation they'd had since before…that day. "We all think so. Pansy would have been proud."

"Maybe." He nodded, eyes flitting to the bathroom door and back. She felt a pang of annoyance, because his body language suggested he was trying to find a way to escape.

"Erm…Professor McGonagall told me that…Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson would like you to pack up her things…for them. With Blaise." She said awkwardly, tracing circles into the carpet with her toes.

"Oh." His voice was flat and she winced.

"Malfoy…"

"Draco." He said suddenly, and his tone was suddenly vehement. "Call me Draco. That's my name."

She paused, searching his face. "I'm sorry…I can't be Pansy, Malfoy."

"I'm not asking you to be Pansy!" He yelled suddenly and she swallowed. "I'm asking you to call me my_ fucking_ name! I'm sorry if that's just not possible!"

"No, wait-" he walked past her, turning so she couldn't see his face. A desperate edge dug into her stomach as she resisted the urge to reach out and stop him.

"I'll see you later, Granger." He went into the bathroom and she had the sudden urge to throw something. Instead she took three deep breaths, regained her composure and turned to go up the stairs. Everything was in a huge jumble, just like her thoughts and feelings. It made it so hard to focus on anything except him, something she was completely unaccustomed to. Even with Seamus she'd been able to do her work and concentrate when need be. Now it seemed like everything else was pushed and shoved into a corner of her mind by _him_; by Draco.

She stared at the same sentence involving the negative affects dragon scales had on people who used them in potions to look younger for a solid five minutes. To her annoyance, she just read the work 'dragon' over and over again and smiled. _This is ridiculous_. She thought crossly.

_OK, maybe I'll do Transfiguration, instead. _Unfortunately, she just kept remembering funny things Draco often muttered under his breath while McGonagall was talking and she couldn't focus, either. Ancient Runes reminded her of one of their first classes together, where they fought over who would do a better job on the assignment. She wondered when she would get to know. Which made her wonder if she would still be talking to him by then.

_I can't stay here. I'll go crazy. _She pushed her books to the side and left her room. She'd never had such a lack of concentration before. Nothing had ever had this much effect on her work habits. "Malfoy?" She knocked on his door. "Malfoy?"

There was no answer. She heaved a sigh and turned to go do… Well, _something_, she wasn't sure what when she heard a movement from Pansy's room. _I suppose he might be in there. _She thought and took a deep breath, before knocking on the door.

When he opened it, his expression was one of forced blankness and when he saw her it melted a bit. "Hi."

"Hi." She said, awkwardly. They both seemed to be thinking of their earlier encounter. "I was just…yeah…"

"Okay." He paused, and then opened the door wider for her to come in. Feeling slightly touched that he wasn't shutting her out at such an emotional time she stepped through the door. "I…er, I just started."

Unfolded boxes were stacked beside her dresser and her trunk was open at the foot of her bed. The room itself was horribly untouched and unlived in – though there were signs of life everywhere. Her bed was a bit wrinkled, her makeup bag was open on her dresser and a tube of mascara lay out on it. The closet door hadn't been closed properly and there was a book with a folded over page on her nightstand.

"How are you doing?" She asked softly, looking at him with concern.

"I don't know. It's hard." He said quietly and she squeezed his hand, wondering when she'd taken it. "I don't suppose…I mean, would you stay?"

"Of course," she answered immediately. "As long as you like."

He smiled at her. "I guess…You can sit on her bed."

She nodded and took a seat cautiously. "So…So is Blaise coming?"

"I don't know. I told him I was going to go do it now, but I doubt he'll be here anytime soon." He said and hesitated in front of her closet, before slowly sliding the panel open. School clothing hung from the hangers and with shaking fingers her reached out and slid off a blouse. Carefully folding the crisp white shirt, he walked to her trunk and gently set it in, before staring down at it.

Hermione felt her eyes water with tears, but shakily told herself to get a grip. With a small sigh he moved back to the closet and slid another garment off its hanger. She watched him in silence for awhile until he spoke again. "What do you think the next potion will be?"

"I don't know," she spoke quickly. "Probably something that will help ease our…stress, or something. But it won't be too outrageous, I would think. I don't think they really had a definite pattern, or anything."

"Yeah, me neither. I thought at the beginning that they would take answers from that questionnaire thing we did, but they never used those again. After what you ended up doing." He said and she couldn't help but smile. "Did I ever apologize for being the reason you did that?"

"No."

"Sorry."

"It's Okay." She said truthfully. "It's in the past."

"There are a lot of things in the past that time doesn't erase." He said seriously and she had the strangest feeling he wasn't talking about the potion, or Pansy.

"Sometimes you have to erase them yourself." She said evenly, holding his stare. "You can't just wait for time to work its magic."

"What if you don't know how?" He asked and if she'd had any doubt about what they were talking about, it was now gone.

She smiled, "That's the wonderful thing about friends. They help you."

There was a long moment as they held the other's gaze. She watched as emotions swirled in his grey eyes, almost like satellite pictures of hurricanes, yet much less horrible. Beautiful, in a way, yet not expressed in the term that males often shied away fom.

The door clicked open and her head jerked to the side. In walked Blaise, eyes darting nervously around the room, followed by Gavin. There was a moment of silence as both parties observed each other. "Hello." She finally greeted. "It's nice to see you two."

"Sure." Blaise said in a gravelly voice. He surveyed Draco for a moment. "Nice speech."

"Thanks." Draco said uncomfortably. Another silence stretched on.

"Well…Have you come for company?" Hermione asked Gavin. He nodded and then came and sat beside her. "Malfoy was just doing the…the closet, first."

Her throat constricted as she saw the look of complete and utter desolation on Blaise's face. "Oh. Alright. Would you mind if we did everything together? I don't think I can pack up her things…alone."

"I know." Draco said quietly. "Of course."

After a moment of mutual hesitation they both moved to the closet. Slowly it began to empty, leaving nothing but bare wooden walls and clothes hangers, hanging like skeletons and casting thin shadows on the wall. It was slow work, but there was no desire to go faster and certainly no initiative to. She noticed that Blaise would constantly look at Gavin for support and occasionally take the long way around to the closet so he could brush their hands together.

It made her a bit sad to note that Draco seemed to be trying to focus on the work and not draw support from anywhere, when quite obviously he was struggling. Hermione wanted to reach out to him, but how? It was ridiculous of her to think that he would even respond positively. For reasons unknown to her, she seemed to think that by realizing she fancied him, it meant he would be more susceptible to her kindness and friendship. _Friendship. _The very implications of the word made her feel slightly jealous. Of what she was jealous of, exactly, she wasn't sure.

"Last year we had a huge Charms essay due," Blaise said suddenly, to no one in particular. "I finished mine two weeks in advance, but the night before it was due I couldn't find it. She stayed up with me all night and helped me write it."

"Pansy was a good friend." Gavin agreed with him, smiling in a comforting way.

"The best." Blaise said, and he looked at Draco quickly, before turning away.

"I…I suppose it's just you and me now." Draco said quietly.

And Blaise exploded.

It was strange that such an innocent combination of words would set off a reaction so strong. Hermione had been so startled by the alteration in his tone that she'd jumped. Gavin, on the other hand, had merely looked intensely relieved. She thought it was probably because, if he knew Blaise as well as she thought he did, it wouldn't be good for him to keep so much emotion pent up, what with his intensity of feeling. She was quite sure it wasn't for his own satisfaction of seeing Draco screamed at.

Because scream he did.

"_What do you _want_ from me!?_" He yelled, dropping the clothes hanger he was holding onto the floor with a clatter. "What the _fuck_ do you want from me?"

Draco opened his mouth to reply, but Blaise cut him off. "No, shut up! Just – just – God, you've got to make up your damn mind! You can't treat me like you did out there and then expect I'll – I'll – I don't care that I'm different, anymore. I don't care if you hate me because I'm attracted to other guys. I've always been like this, Draco! I've always been like this! Always! But I was too scared to tell you. Too scared to tell my _best mate_ who I really am! Turns out I was right, though, to be scared."

Draco flinched and she resisted the urge to step in and order that he stop. It was completely irrational, too, because Blaise had every right to say what he was saying. _Every_ right. But seeing the blonde's expression made her heart ache.

"Every night I wondered if I should tell you and decided not to – turns out I should've stuck with it. Every Hogsmeade visit where you mentioned some girl or another and I just didn't get it and I kept quiet – you didn't even notice. You just can't imagine someone working against the natural order of things. All those nights you complained about Harry and Hermione and Gryffindors - I should've known you're just a stupid, imbecilic, prejudice prat!"

Blaise began to advance on him and Draco took an involuntary step back. Hermione's hand jerked forward before she could stop it and Gavin shot her a warning look.

"Pansy was the one who supported me." He snapped venomously. "She was the one who said, 'Drake will understand. Drake is a good friend. Drake won't care.'" He laughed bitterly. "I guess you do. I can't even imagine that after being friends for _six fucking years_ you'd have it in you to tell me to my face you think I'm a repulsive _thing_."

"I'm sorry." Draco said, his voice almost pleading and Hermione stared at him with wide eyes. But Blaise kept going.

"How could you? I've known you a long time, but you've never – you've always-" He struggled to find the right words, hands shaking as they ran through his hair, back to shouting. "You called me a thing. You rejected the very part of me that makes me who I am. I know your parents are psychos and obsessed with the pureblood way, but I know you're different from them. Even just infinitesimally. But I suppose that where I'm concerned, you're still your father."

"Blaise-"

"Stay out of this, Gavin." He said in a harsh voice. "I guess people like me don't fit into your life, do they? People like me aren't good enough for people like you."

"No, Blaise-"

"Why? Can you tell me that, at least? A few parting words before you go continue strolling into your perfect little life and I go back into my happy but imperfect one?"

"My life is not perfect." Draco said slowly and took a deep breath, because Blaise seemed inclined to listen. "I never meant to offend you."

Blaise snorted, but said nothing. "I suppose that sounds like rubbish, to you. I didn't _offend _you, but for the sake of both of us-"

"Are we negotiating a business deal?" Blaise asked, rubbing his temples. "Can't you just drop all the self-pride and the masks for _one_ second?"

"I'm sorry." Draco said earnestly. "I really am. But there's a point you reach where you try and take the 'masks' off and you realize they're actually you."

"That's great, Draco. Really. So you can be yourself and you can be alone. Wonderful. I'm sure as hell not sticking around here."

"Blaise, I'm jealous of you." He blurted it out before he could stop himself. "You've got it figured out. You know who you are. The person you love is with you. The entire Sixth Year class stood up for you in the Great Hall, even though more than half don't even_ know_ you. You're…I guess you're who you are, and you've accepted it! I'm jealous of that. That's why I'm upset. Why I _was _upset. It has nothing to do with you being…"

"You can't even say it." Blaise said bitterly, shaking his head. "You can't even fucking say it."

"Didn't you hear me?" Draco asked, louder this time. Hermione was intensely relieved. She didn't like the Draco she'd seen taking Blaise's criticism. "I told you why, Blaise. If I could go back I would. I wouldn't have said those things. I would have told you that I don't care. I don't. All I want is to be your friend again."

Blaise stared at him for awhile. The energy sparked with hostility and Hermione held her breath until she began to see stars and black spots appeared in her vision. Draco watched Blaise, the pleading expression slowly crumbling into one of desolation. And then-

"I miss Pansy." Blaise said in a throaty voice.

"Me too." Draco replied in the same tone. Another moment of silence and then Blaise threw his arms around Draco, who seemed startled by the closeness and then hugged him back tightly. "I've missed you, too."

"I know. Me too." Blaise whispered back. Hermione's heart swelled and she stared at Draco, clutching his friend, and for a moment she felt peace.

-

-

The next morning they were held after breakfast. Dumbledore spoke briefly about Pansy's death, adding that there was a book of condolences just outside the Great Hall, if any of them had anything personal to add. He said that there'd been a special section at the end for people who'd really known her. There would be counseling available to anyone in the Hospital Wing and he urged them to go if they needed to talk to someone.

And that was that.

"I would also like to take this time to mention that this will be the last week for the assignment you are doing." A few muted cries of astonishment followed his statement and Draco looked at her in horror. "We hope that the friendships you have acquired hold strong. Professor Snape will be collecting the write-ups next week, on a day of his choice."

"A Monday." Ron muttered on his breath, drawing a few weak snickers.

"We've discussed this as a staff, and have begun to consider using proposing this idea in the sixth year curriculum. However, we as the teachers in this school only have what perspective can be seen over how effective an assignment is. Therefore, we've developed a quiz for you to fill out." Dismayed sighs and exclamations filled the room and Hermione felt a moment's consternation that she hadn't been able to study or anything.

"This is nothing academic; it's a small test to see if this really was beneficial. We didn't have any serious hospitalizations, so we'd like to see your perspective. If so, we'll send in a proposal to the Ministry and perhaps it will be approved next year. There are things we'll have to modify, of course. Any questions?"

He looked around and when no one moved he waved his wand. "Please begin. Take all the time you need."

Hermione looked down at the crisp white booklet in front of her. It looked quite thick. She looked at Draco, who was staring at her. Flushing, she said, "So…Last week, huh."

"Yeah…" He shook his head, blood flooding into his cheeks and opened the booklet. Hermione did the same, filling in basic information like her partner's name; who they'd shared a dormitory with; the password. A few fill in the blank questions about how much she liked being separated from others, if she found the room placement inconvenient and if she would recommend making the people stay in their usual dormitories.

The next page was about her experience with the potions; how she felt while under them; if she felt scared to take one; if she felt comfortable taking the potion; if it was too difficult to brew; and at the bottom any suggestions to help improve the process. She carefully outlined a detailed plan that they should carefully check over what the potion's effect would have on them. She snuck a peek at Draco's and saw him writing about the same thing, quill moving swiftly across the page.

She moved through the multiple choice and filled in the blanks with mostly positive words. At the 'I think they should_______ have the partners from other houses' she put 'always,' and then explained why in the margin. It was quite extensive and covered almost everything they'd done – class schedules (whether or not it had been too disruptive to their education, etc) eating situations, the mini Quidditch games, Hogsmeade visits, being prohibited from walking too far away from each other, even if they'd felt pressured into doing anything by the presence of their partner.

With a low sigh of content she looked down at the heads bent over parchment as her classmates wrote. She had only one section of about four pages left. She might have complained about the length, but she realized that if they were thinking of making it part of the curriculum, they _had_ to be that thorough.

It was on to short answers and opinions. _Do you think this project should continue on? Why or why not? How has your knowledge of practical potions improved? What are some of the positive benefits from this assignment? Did you find the potion instructions challenging? If you could improve the assignment, what are three things you would do? Describe the most and least interesting and/or effective parts of this project. _And the last question: _If you could, would you repeat the assignment, and would you recommend the other grades participating in it in their sixth year? Explain._

When she was done she spent most of her time looking at Draco out of the corner of her eye. She wondered what he was writing. They'd had three pages for the last question, and her writing had gotten steadily smaller as she'd written more, but he seemed to be carefully considering everything he wrote. She also wondered if he thought the assignment was a good idea. As ridiculous as it was, if he said no she would fell terribly upset, because it _was_ the thing that brought them together.

He looked up and their eyes met. He grinned and gestured with his head to the page. Her eyes followed the movement and she saw that he'd written in big capital letters YES, underlined about five times. She felt relieved and then tried to pretend she hadn't been worried that he'd thought the whole thing was a waste of time.

As his hand touched hers she jumped and then blushed heavily, curling her fingers into his under the table. Her stomach was flip flopping and her hands were shaking. Why had he taken her hand? Why? She didn't know what to think. Her face was flushed and she was pretty sure Harry had noticed, but he was staring aimlessly into space and doodling GW on his paper.

"Does anyone require more time?" Dumbledore asked and she looked around, surprised to see an hour had gone by. No one raised a hand, so he smiled and summoned all the sheets. "We'll have the results at lunch time for you. Because this is the last potion, we have something a bit…unique planned for you, if you all agreed that this assignment was a good idea. However, the potion will take more time and therefore will need to be started tonight so you can put the finishing stages on it, as Professor Snape began the potion about a month ago. It should be complete by tomorrow night. Because of the nature of the potion…It requires special … modifications, we'll say, to your regular lifestyles. With that, have a good morning."

He stepped away from them and strode from the hall, leaving a somewhat annoyed silence in his wake. "What?" Ron spluttered, "He can't say something like that and walk away!"

"Need I remind you that he's Dumbledore?" Blaise pointed out and Ron laughed, before eyeing Blaise thoughtfully. Blaise seemed to have realized he'd just spoken to Ron _Weasley_.

"Still," Ron continued, as though there hadn't been a pause, "He still can't go on like that! S'not fair for the rest of us!"

Harry's face relaxed into a smile and Blaise grinned. Hermione felt Draco's hand loosen its grip and for a moment she felt extremely disappointed as he stood up, releasing her hand, and gestured to her to follow. "Shall we go back to the dormitory?"

"Sure." She agreed, "Are you coming as well?"

Harry and Blaise stood up, nodding, and then Ron decided to join them, dragging Morag along with him. She walked back in a near daze, gazing thoughtfully ahead of her.

So remained her state until they were back in the Great Hall, in their seats from before and she worked up hope that he would take her hand again. He didn't. _I'm so pathetic. _She thought to herself, watching him from the corner of her eye. He chatted somewhat awkwardly with Blaise, though with each word their casualness returned.

Finally, Dumbledore stood and the Sixths Years all straightened up. Hermione, however, knew what was happening. If Dumbledore was going to use this time to announce something about the assignment to them, it must mean they'd approved the idea, because the rest of the school was also there.

She watched with relief – it was so nice to see the rest of the school realize why they'd been acting so strangely – as the other houses stirred in shock and whispered amongst each other while Dumbledore explained what had been going.

"I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that we've sent a proposal to the Ministry to approve including this assignment in the Year Six Potions curriculum. We received outstanding recommendations from everyone in the Year Six class this year," his eyes twinkled, and he continued to explain a bit about what they would be changing and how they'd put together the assignment. Hermione took the time to gaze around the hall thoughtfully, and was startled when people started looking at her.

"We were wondering if you or Mr. Malfoy would like to say a few words, you two gave very enthusiastic responses to the questions." Dumbledore prompted, for what was probably the third time.

"Oh, erm…" She jumped to her feet, "Well, I mean, it's been a really great learning experience. Not only have we done far more intricate and complex potions, but we've been able to share it with classmates we haven't spent a lot of time with. It's really opened my eyes to how much you think you know about someone over six years, and realize you have so much more to learn. None of us, I think, were put in very comfortable partnerships…or trios…But we made the best of it, which is what you have to do with life. I think we've all formed pretty solid relationships, and I'm sad it's almost over."

She nodded awkwardly once and then sat down, feeling flushed. Draco smiled at her, and then jumped a bit as Snape said, "And Draco?"

"Er… Well, yeah. I agree with everything Granger said; that pretty much summed it up." There was a moment of flabbergasted silence as everyone heard them _agree_ in _public_, and then Dumbledore merrily closed off his speech with a small mention of how the school would be needed to help manage their next potion.

_Another mention of this challenging potion. _She frowned thoughtfully, taking a sip of tea. _I wonder what it is…_

Nothing she'd come up with herself had come close to what she would happen in the next week.

-

-

"Hello," Ginny beamed at Harry, tossing her flame colored hair from her eyes and kissing his cheek. "Is Hermione in?"

"Yeah, she's in her room, I think." Harry answered, smiling back, eyes glittering happily.

"Okay, I'll be out in a minute." She winked and then walked up to Hermione's room, knocking softly on the door. Hermione answered it quickly.

"Ginny?" She said in surprise, sweeping her brown hair to one shoulder.

"In the flesh." Ginny said, grinning. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Smiling, Hermione led her friend to her bed. "It feels like it's been so long since we've been able to chat."

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." The Weasley said and adjusted her position on Hermione's bed, holding a pillow to her chest. The pink clashed horribly with her hair. "This is a bad color."

"I know. Pansy chose it." Hermione said sadly and fondly, even though she'd really disliked the girl at that time. "But when she realized the other room she could have was between the boys' she abandoned this one."

"Oh." Ginny said, watching her friend's expression fall. "She sounded like a great girl…No sense of color, but really great."

"She was." Hermione smiled, eyes a bit watery. "So what brings you here?"

"Just the assignment." Ginny said, raising her voice slightly in excitement and forced cheeriness. "It sounds so exciting! I thought something was up with you all, but I had no idea this is what it was!"

"That was the point." She said dryly, "But I'm glad we succeeded in that sense. I really hope the Ministry accepts the idea, though it was only courtesy that they were asked anyway. Dumbledore could have just added it in and they wouldn't have been able to stop him."

"Probably. I'm actually excited for it, your grade seemed to really enjoy it! Well, except the first week…" Ginny shuddered, "Bad memories. It's pretty cool that you and Malfoy were able to stop hating each other."

"Yeah." She paused, and then launched into a long, unprompted speech about the object of their conversation. "You know, he isn't like I thought at all! I mean, I know you saw us at our worst with that argument, but everyone has problems, right? And I knew he was intelligent, but he's actually incredibly smart, beyond just school! And once you get to know him, he's really sweet and oftentimes nice, you just have to understand why he does things. And he has this way of looking at you that if you don't know what it means, it looks annoyed but he's really just amused! And – and…what?"

Ginny was staring at her, a puzzled and pained expression on her face. "I can't believe you're going to make me do this."

"Do what? Ginny? Are you alright?" She asked, concerned. The red-head got up and Hermione hurried after her. "Ginny?"

"The things I do for you." Ginny grumbled, striding over to Draco's door and banging on it. Harry looked up from the couch and then shot an inquisitive look at Hermione. She looked equally confused and then Draco emerged. "Here we go." Mumbled Ginny, and then she threw her arms around him in a hug.

There was a moment of silence. "Er…Hi, Weasley."

"There," Ginny pulled away and shuddered. "There."

"Ginny, are you okay?" Harry asked cautiously.

"I'm great. Shall we go for a walk, Harry?" Ginny asked and dragged him from his chair.

"We can't go far or Blaise-"

"Oh, right. Well, let's talk here. Hermione has some thinking to do." Ginny glanced covertly at Hermione, who looked bemused.

"Ginny, _what_ is going on?" She demanded. The other female just shrugged and began an animated, one sided conversation with Harry about how he'd enjoyed the assignment, not bothering to let him answer her questions.

Hermione looked at Draco, who was watching her, confused. Until a sudden thought came to him, a conversation he'd had before life had become so incredibly complicated. It was quite random and didn't even necessarily apply to the situation…Yet somehow, it was important. As the memory washed over him, he realized why.

'"_But he didn't make you as happy as you could be." For some reason, these words made him slightly happier. "I think you both knew it wouldn't work out."_

"_Er…yeah."_

"_You know what? When you finally start openly talking about a guy in a girly way, I will go up and hug them. Even if it's Snape!" Ginny said, grinning._

"_Okay." He said, not catching on the joke in those words.'_

Confused, warm brown met shocked, ice cold grey.

**Author's Note: My apologies multiplied by a million. I truly have no excuse for such a lapse in writing except for work and school, which hardly counts, I think!**

**My anonymous reviewers: (you can skip this if you want. I hope the Anons can figure out who is who.)**

**lost in oblivion - your review pretty made my entire November seem happier. Not my happiest month, but when I got to school the next day I was definitely smiling! XD. You falling in love with Draco is BRILLIANT! I find that completely and utterly amazing! XD. Thanks for taking the time to review and read!**

**Anon (1) – Thank you very much for reviewing! It's great that people who might not have an account here (or just don't want to sign in) will still take the care to show support! :) So thank you thank you thank you!**

**Anon (2) – Wow. Phenomenal! Intense word! So is stellar! XD. And nope, not the last chapter! I suppose, considering you SEEM to like the story, this is a good thing? ;) '**_**I am a huge fan of yours and you have inspired me to write stories.' **_**Wow. I'm pretty sure that line almost made me burst into tears. (Well, OK, almost your entire review did. I was (and am!) so exhausted, things like that almost set me off.) Honestly, the whole reason I actually started writing of FF was because another author inspired me to write a story, and poof, there we went! So hearing that was really really really really really really great! :) So thank you SO much!**

**So yeah. Anyways…Honestly, you reviewers help me hold it together. Life just sucks in general, so each word in each review makes me feel happier and lighter! I do try to reply to them all, and I might say something like that in them (I try to keep them each unique and individual to what the reviewer says, because I wouldn't want to say the same thing to everyone, except for 'thanks for reviewing' or some variation of that.) If I missed you, I apologize, and let me know! I can go on for AGES and AGES in a review reply, so trust me, I can make up for it! Of course, sometimes it's hard to reply to really short reviews because there isn't a whole lot I can say, but I do try! So no matter!**

**Errrrmmmm…yeah. Happy holidays! (Christmas, Kwanza, Solstice, Hanukkah and the hundreds of other celebrations I've missed!) Also, happy New Years, if I haven't updated by then! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! To my HOH readers, soon! I promise!**

**Review review review!**

**~Leigh**

**P.S Any guesses for the next potion? I'll give you a hint: It is a VERY cliché idea a lot of fics in multiple pairings are based around, but I couldn't resist!**


	31. Overheard

**Author's Note: I have two fanfiction goals of this new year: Update faster and write shorter Author's Notes. When I go back to verify something in a chapter or for fun and see these, like, half a page long notes I'm horrified! So those are my resolutions. xD In regards to the lateness, I can say only this: my "easy" semester is not so easy. I've written a list of all my projects (right now 8) and taped it to my locker so I don't procrastinate.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

Hermione was furious with Ginny. Beyond furious, in fact. She was so angry that it was actually hard to concentrate. She couldn't look at Draco – the idea of looking at him made her turn a dark red and was so mortifying she couldn't face it - and had retreated to her room as soon as she'd demanded an explanation from her red-headed friend.

She'd forgotten about the conversation Ginny had had with Draco while they'd had the switching potion. Apparently, Ginny hadn't connected their irregular behaviour to that week after she'd learned about the assignment, and had been completely shocked when Hermione had explained that she'd had the conversation with Draco, and had just told _Draco_, in essence, that she _fancied_ him. It depended on whether or not he remembered. Or at least that had been what Ginny had suggested hopefully, Hermione had just laughed derisively.

So Hermione stayed in her room until Harry knocked on her door and told her that they were going to start their potion soon. Before she completely exited her hideout she peered out and then hurried to walk beside Harry, avoiding Draco and pulling her brown hair over her shoulder to hide half her face. The group were mostly silent, lost in their own thoughts, and their small walk passed quickly.

They arrived at the Potions classroom and she shivered slightly, taking a seat beside Harry. She was aware of Draco's eyes on her, but she pretended she didn't notice and began to lecture Ron on why he should have written out the reactions to the potions as they'd happened like she did, and that way he wouldn't have forgotten everything. Meanwhile Ron attempted to deny that he'd forgotten _everything_, he just couldn't quite remember it _all_.

The funniest part of it, to Harry, was the fact that Ron seemed to think his argument made sense and held a chance against their friend's superior logic. He spent most of the time listening to them bicker and tracing shapes and letters onto the chair with his finger.

Snape strode into the classroom and Hermione's back straightened by instinct, her head snapping up and effectively halting her conversation with Ron. "This potion requires a great deal of precision and concentration, the level of which I don't think half of you possess." His eyes lingered significantly on Harry. Hermione felt a moment of shock at his cold behaviour, after what had happened, and wondered if maybe the only thing that he felt like he could do was remain the cold-hearted professor they didn't like. He'd certainly given them consistency, if nothing else.

"I have already begun the creation of this potion. Luckily for you, the most difficult part is over. However, due to its fragile state, you won't be able to move it. In the other Potions classroom-"

"There's another Potions classroom?" Ron asked under his breath. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"…cauldrons set up for each partnership. You will complete it in that room, and that is where you will drink it. I will give you one warning – this potion will be extremely difficult to manage for most of you. What it will do to you will not be easy for you to deal with, and therefore I've been instructed to tell you that that all your basic necessities will be provided. Are there any questions?" He looked around at them in a menacing way.

"What is it?" Terry Boot asked and she heard Draco snigger.

"Are there any questions worth my time?" Snape sneered, making the Ravenclaw flush. "Very well. Come up and collect your slips of parchment."

She followed the mass of students and picked up a slip on one side of the desk while Draco took one from the opposite. She wondered if he'd watched her join this line up and then chosen the opposite because of that, or if he thought she'd done that to him. He looked up and she looked away, blushing. _This is ridiculous. _She told herself fiercely. _He probably doesn't even remember._

His eyes gazed imploring into her, which she knew because she'd looked up at him to see if he was still looking. _Oh Merlin. He remembers. He _definitely_ remembers. _She dragged her eyes away from him and hurried back to her seat, nearly tripping on a desk leg in her haste.

"Once you have joined your partner you may proceed to the next classroom, to your left." Their teacher said, leaving the room quickly, as though lingering in their presence caused him pain.

_Shoot. _She thought, _now we have to make contact! OK, act normal. Pretend like you don't have any idea what Ginny meant. In fact, why would he _believe_ Ginny, anyways! It's not like I _told_ her._

"Ready?" He came to stand beside her, shouldering his bag.

"Are you?" She kind of growled back, raising an eyebrow menacingly. _Crap. That wasn't the approach I wanted._

"Er, yeah." He looked taken aback by her ferocity and looked around them questioningly.

"Good. Because so am I." She couldn't seem to keep out the angry tone in her voice and decided to go with it. For all he knew, she _was_ mad at him! In fact, maybe she was. Because…_Well_, she decided, _I'll figure that out later, if he asks_.

He followed her, face twisted in an expression of confusion. "I have the second half." She said abruptly, stopping before the door where a handful of students from her year stood. "I'll be out here, if you need anything."

"Right." He said, gazing into her faze. Uncomfortably she shifted and looked away.

"Do you want us to be behind everyone?"

"No." He said, shaking his head. "Alright. See you in a few."

She was left outside the door and pressed the back of her hand to her cheek. _If I keep acting like that, he'll think I've gone mental. _The coolness from her fingers eased the heat on her face and she took a few breaths. _He doesn't know. Just calm down._

"Are you alright?" Harry's voice broke through her daze and she looked up.

"Oh, yeah. I'm just tired." She shrugged, leaning against the wall. "How are you doing?"

"I've been a lot better." He admitted, mirroring her position.

"Yeah." She sighed, staring across the hallway. "What do you think this one will be?"

"I don't know. I just hope I don't have to drink it. Again." He said dryly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I thought they would have had some control over who got chosen." Hermione said, frowning. "So that one person wouldn't get chosen the whole time. But I suppose not."

"Yeah." He agreed and they both stared at the bricks on the other side of the corridor. She could hear Morag going on excitedly about a concept he'd learned in Ancient Runes and she wondered what Draco was thinking about.

"Hermione?" Harry's voice made her jump and she looked guiltily at him. He smiled a bit at her and then spoke again. "Ginny told me that you fancy Malfoy. I asked if it was true."

She flushed a bright crimson and tried to come up with something intelligent to say. Her mouth opened and closed several times on its own accord and she struggled to regain her composure. "Harry, I…"

He looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I know a lot of things have changed. I just want to know. I don't even know if I hate Malfoy anymore, anyway. Or if I ever truly did. You might as well just tell me, right?"

She paused and then nodded, ducking her head. "Don't tell Ron."

"I won't. You'll need to do that." He sighed, leaning heavily against the wall and sliding down to a sitting position on the floor. She followed suit, patting her skirt down so it didn't expose anything. They sat in comfortable silence and she leaned on him, resting her head on his shoulder. Gradually her eyes flickered shut and she listened to her friend breath deeply. It seemed, for a moment, that he was speaking, but she couldn't make sense of his words.

Thoughts were floating around absentmindedly in her brain, occasionally surfacing long enough to be coherent and developed ideas and often just touching on her consciousness. Most of them were about school, but a constant refrain was Draco. _Draco Draco Draco_. His name alone was enough to make her stomach flutter and a smile touch her lips. She thought about his hand, curling into hers and she traced her fingers with her eyes closed.

It was quite a bit later when she woke up. Harry nudged her slightly and she'd blearily opened her eyes, noticing that it was pretty much silent in the hall and that most of the people who had been out in the corridor were in positions similar to hers. Draco stood over them with his hands in his pockets while Blaise reached down to help up Harry. She struggled to her feet and Draco rested his warm hand on the small of her back to help her regain balance. She blushed, turning from him and crossing her arms over her chest. "My turn?"

"It's 11:30." He replied in a hushed voice that sounded almost gentle. "I'm done for the night. Apparently you start at 9:00 tomorrow. We can go back now."

"Oh." She stretched, reaching her hands up to the ceiling and arching her back, feeling it crack in multiple places. "Let's go, then."

Wearily the students stumbled through the castle and said quiet goodbyes to each other. She wondered if Filch would give them detention if he found them walking back, but they didn't encounter him so she would never know. It was strange to think about things she would never know. Her mind had constantly been pointing out things she would never know the answer to as moments passed, ever since Pansy's death.

After they'd entered their Common Room she gave her partner a half-asleep smile and waved her arm limply. "G'night."

"Good night." He replied and she felt his eyes on her as she walked up to her room and opened her door. As she turned to close it their eyes locked. _His eyes are mesmerizing. _Their stares were only interrupted as the door clicked shut and she tugged off her robes after a moment of hesitation, not bothering to change, before collapsing on the bed.

_Draco._

-

-

The next morning was slow for Hermione. She showered at 5:30 after waking up at odd intervals in the night and then hauled out her books, making sure she was up to date on all her schoolwork and going over her description of the potions they'd made and done. After proofreading her Charms essay for the fifth time she wrote it out and then rolled up the parchment, satisfied. It was due on Thursday and she had no other assignments until the next week, so she lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

_I wonder if Draco has woken up yet. _She wondered absently, tracing patterns on her soft comforter. _Maybe I should go into the Common Room, in case he's there. Should I wear my robes? They might be too bulky. Maybe I should just wear my skirt and jumper. _

She got up slowly and got dressed out of the pants and shirt she'd put on after her shower and then, after pausing for a moment, braided her hair into a pleat and wished she knew how to pull out wisps so they would frame her face. She tried to go for that effect but ended up grabbing a really long strand of hair and pulling that so it rested on her shoulder, so she had to redo the braid and opted to leave it as it was.

To her disappointment Draco wasn't in the Common Room, but she curled up on the couch in front of the fire anyway and read the next chapter in her Transfiguration textbook. The assignment had interrupted her regular schedule of homework and she didn't want to fall behind or lose her work ethic.

As soon as she'd covered the first three pages Draco's door clicked open and he emerged quietly, holding his Transfiguration textbook in his arm and his robes in the other. When he turned around and saw her he stopped short in surprise. She blinked, looking up and he moved forward slowly. "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not." She answered before she could stop herself, her heart thudding rapidly. A flush was already spreading over her skin and she wondered to herself why she'd even wanted to see him, because it was so awkward.

He sat on the armchair next to hers and she buried herself behind her book, eyes rapidly reading the words in the text but not actually absorbing any of its content.

"Granger?" She started - his voice sounded so close - and her book slipped through her fingers and hit the floor with a thud. They both leaned down to pick it up and his fingers closed over it before hers. He looked up and she met his eyes for what must have been the millionth time. It was strange, but all the looks the two exchanged did nothing to quell the power hidden in his eyes.

The air seemed to crackle around her and it was like time slowed down – it would have been so cliché, had it not been so _magical_. His face was so close she could feel his breath caressing her cheek and her own breathing hitched. His gaze swept over her and sent shivers running up and down her spine. She became aware that his grey eyes lingered on her lips and then met her own once again.

"Thank you." She breathed softly, entranced and unable to reach for the textbook. Time seemed to still and he leaned in slowly, his lashes creating shadows on his cheeks as his eyes nearly closed.

"Hermione," he whispered, so close his lips almost touched hers as he spoke. "I-"

The door to the bathroom slammed open and bounced off the wall as steam poured from it. She flung herself away from Draco so quickly she hit her head roughly off the wood in the couch frame and he jumped, dropping the book back onto the floor.

"Fuck, it's hot in there." Blaise said, towelling his hair dry and stumbling through the mist. He didn't seem to notice the tense and awkward silence that met his statement. "What are you two doing?"

"Studying." Draco said and she just sat, clenching her hands together and staring intently at the floor.

"Oh." The other male banged on Harry's door. "Breakfast in ten minutes."

"I'll go get my robes." She stood up quickly, stepping on her text book and nearly slipping. He watched her as she bent over, picked it up and practically ran from the room. When she got into her own she was shaking and her heart was beating frantically.

They'd almost kissed.

She knew it. She knew that he had almost kissed her, it wasn't a fluke, it _wasn't_. If Blaise hadn't walked out of the bathroom at that exact time _they_ _would have kissed_. She knew it was irrational to be annoyed with him, but a part of her bitterly wished he had a better sense of timing.

She tugged on her robes, taking in her flushed face in a mirror on the table. _Just breathe, Hermione._ She told herself, stuffing her book into her bag even though they didn't have class until after lunch. After checking to make sure she had her half of the potion's instructions she sat on the edge of her bed and fanned herself for a second.

After she was sure of her composure she stood up and walked to her door. Draco didn't need to know how much their almost-encounter had affected her. He didn't need to know that one look at him made her heart flutter and her stomach clench. He didn't need to know that she thought of him way too much during the day and sometimes the night.

When she re-entered the Common Room they were standing by the door and departed soon afterward. Blaise and Draco's voices were a constant buzz behind her while she and Harry tried to make guesses about what the next potion was. When they reached the Great Hall they sat with Ron and Morag, but to Hermione's disappointment Draco chose to sit across from her.

She ate slowly, her mind spinning with what had occurred earlier. It seemed so unreal – like the moments girls always wished they could have with the boy they liked, except it had actually happened. Things like that didn't happen to her, and certainly not with Draco Malfoy. No matter how much she wished they would.

Her hand met someone else's as she reached to get a salt shaker and she looked up, feeling a jolt. Draco's arm stayed extended, frozen, and they stared across the table at each other. Blaise looked between the two, his mouth opening slightly in shock as if he could feel the electric charges sweeping off her arms and seeming to pass into Draco's.

"Ahem." She pulled away, "Sorry."

"That's OK." He replied quickly. "You can take it."

"No, thanks. You can have it." She picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of bacon, in turn crumbling it into tiny pieces.

"That's alright. I don't want it anymore."

"Me neither."

"OK."

"Alright."

She sat awkwardly, perched on the edge of the bench and took a large forkful of pancake, cursing when it fell into her lap instead of making it to her mouth. She blushed heavily, using a napkin to wipe the syrup from her cheek and clothing.

"Are you OK, Hermione?" Ron asked, looking concerned. "You look hot. Are you sick?"

"No." She said and cleared her throat, taking a drink of water. "I'm fine. Maybe I should just take a walk – get some fresh air."

"Good idea." Draco spoke up suddenly, standing. "Let's go."

She swallowed, suddenly nervous, and got to her feet. Before they could leave, however, Lisa Turpin looked up and exclaimed, "Oh! Hermione, I was wondering if I could ask your help for something in Ancient Runes!"

"Oh."

"Are you going somewhere, though? It can wait…" The Ravenclaw looked let down, so she couldn't resists shaking her head.

"No. Just for a bit of a walk, feel free to join us."

"Oh, good. Let's go, Theo." She stood up, dragging the quiet Slytherin with her. He frowned, chugging back what looked like hot tea and then breathing in deeply through his teeth as he hurried to catch up.

The left the Great Hall and took the first staircase, gradually climbing higher into the castle in the direction of the Astronomy Tower. Her walk consisted of explaining the concept they'd learned in their last class while Theodore and Draco trailed behind, talking under their breaths. It wasn't until they reached the stairs into the actual tower that she realized how much time had gone by. "What's the time?"

"8:45." Lisa answered and then turned pale. "Oh, Gods, the potions!"

The group stopped and then the two girls took off towards the nearest staircase, the males in hot pursuit. She was breathless by the time they reached the first floor and had a stitch in her side when they finally got to the Dungeons. Bending over slightly, Lisa rested a hand on the wall. "Oh…God…Made…Just…In…Time…"

She nodded, gasping for breath, and hurried into the classroom without acknowledging Draco. The people inside gave her funny looks but she ignored them and fished out her directions, intensely relieved that she had arrived one minute before the next ingredient. At exactly 9:00 she added in the two whole Yulim leaves and stirred once counter-clockwise.

It was harder to focus on the potion this time, knowing that soon she or Draco would be consuming it. That thought made her think once again of the object of her affection and she almost stirred in the wrong direction – her horror made her momentarily focused, however in another twenty minutes she had returned to her previously distracted state.

By the time she'd done her second to last ingredient it was already past lunch. Her back ached and she couldn't believe she'd been able to stay hunched over a table and cauldron for so long. The most horrific part of the brewing was waiting between adding each ingredient, because the only thing she had with her was her textbook and the longest wait had been twenty minutes.

After she'd read through the first half of the book, which was, needless to say, quite boring, she used her glass stirring stick and stirred the mixture twice clockwise. The idea of sitting in that room for another hour was slightly horrifying – she'd already been there for two and a half _solid_ hours - so she stood up and shouldered her bag. As long as she returned by the end of the hour, everything would be fine.

"Is it finished?" Draco looked up brightly as she emerged and she wished wistfully that his expression would change that way just from seeing her.

"No. Another hour until the last ingredient." She replied uneasily, conscious of the way Harry's eyes watched her. "I figured we could just come back later."

As others poured from the classroom, clearly with the same intent as her, he scrambled to his feet. "Good idea."

"Hermione!" Ron called out to her and she turned, a smile forming on her lips. "Harry and I need to talk to you."

Her heart thudded in her chest and she shot a betrayed look at her raven-haired friend. He shook his head minutely at her and she frowned, but he shrugged. Ron fell into step beside her and Draco, who had been only a foot or so behind, glared at his back and slowed so he trailed after them. Blaise watched him and, his eyes wide with surprise, leaned closer to him. "Hermione…?"

The Malfoy looked at him, a flush spreading across his face and cast his gaze downward. "What?"

"You and Hermione." Blaise whispered back, his eyes fixed intently on his friend's face. "You _like_ her."

"Shut up." He hissed, his eyes moving to her and then back to the floor. "Fine. Yes. I do."

"Are you going to tell her?"

'"_I think you should tell he-__me__ your real feelings."'_

Pansy had wanted him to tell her. She had known how he'd felt.

Blinking rapidly he nodded, tilting his head so the shadow from his hair hung over his eyes. "Yeah. I suppose I will."

Ahead, Hermione remained oblivious to their interaction.

-

-

"We know." Ron said finally, after pausing and making her feel the slightest hint of anticipation for what he was about to announce. The three had taken over one corner of the Common Room and, after covertly eying the closed doors of Draco and Blaise's rooms, he turned back to his friends. Morag was lying on the floor in front of the couch, his eyes closed and his arms folded over his chest. "We know about the deal."

Hermione was extremely confused. "What deal?"

"The deal you made. With McGonagall." Harry explained, leaning against the wall. "About becoming close to Malfoy, and all that."

"What?" She nearly cried out, clamping her lips shut and looking quickly to make sure Draco's door was still shut. When she was sure she could speak again without doing it extremely loudly, she said, "_How_?"

"Dumbledore told Harry, and he told me." Said Ron, not talking as quietly as she thought was necessary.

Frantically she gestured at them to follow her to the bathroom, putting a finger over her lips. Ron didn't appear to understand what was making her do that and continued babbling in a way that brought her violent tendencies out from their hiding place. "It makes sense, now. _That's _why you've been nice to Malfoy; it's all been for the Order."

"Shut up!" She hissed, snatching his arm and pulling him into the bathroom. Harry followed quickly and she pushed back on it, not waiting to hear it click. "Do you _want_ him to hear?"

"Does it matter? You did everything you needed to, so you don't have to pretend." The red-head rolled his eyes at Harry, who had his lips pursed in a way that suggested he found Ron extremely stupid. "Dumbledore told Harry that you were supposed to get him to trust you for the Order. Well, that's what you were doing."

"_Ron_-"

"Hermione?" Harry's tone – slightly horrified and fascinated at the same time - drew her attention and she turned with unexplainable dread. The door to the bathroom hadn't clicked and slowly drifted open. A bubble of fear expanded inside her and she lunged forward, pulling it open and coming face to face with a stricken Draco.

_He heard. He heard everything. _The betrayed and hurt look on his face said it all. She couldn't move; couldn't open her mouth to deny what she knew he thought. It was one of those moments when your joints lock and your blood seems to freeze in your veins, making speech impossible. For a moment she couldn't think of anything- which, in itself, was terrifying – and then Draco's face hardened, releasing her from her spell of panic.

"Malfo-"

"Don't." He said in a quiet voice, staring dispassionately at her. "Don't talk to me, don't touch me, don't even fucking look at me."

"You don't unde-"

"I don't understand?" He whispered, focusing his eyes like shards of stone on her. Ice, cold stone. "What don't I understand? That this entire time you've been getting close to me as a job? You've been playing with me so I _trust_ you and put my _entire_ family in danger to help out the _Order_? Every bloody conversation we've ever had, you've just been ridiculing me, laughing about it later, haven't you?"

"No." Hermione protested weakly as her mind staggered to deny what was happening. "No, that's not it at all."

"I don't care what it is." His hands hung limply by his sides and his shoulders were set evenly, tense. "I don't care about _it_, I don't care about this _assignment_ and I. Don't. Care. About. _You_."

She couldn't prevent herself from sucking in a deep breath that was, no doubt, heard by everyone in the general vicinity. She noticed Morag stick his head around the corner of the couch and it would have been comical, had the floor not seemed to disappear beneath her.

Draco stared into her eyes, anger surging above all the other emotions and then he turned on his heel and left. She watched as each step took him farther and farther away from her and felt the distance grow not only between them, but _within_ her. He slammed the door to his room and she jumped, snapping out of her stupor.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley." Hermione turned, tears blurring her vision. He was staring at her, flabbergasted. "Did it ever occur to you," he backed up as she approached him, "that I got close to him because I _like_ him, and because he's a good person?"

"Er-" He looked slightly frightened by her and she balled her left hand into a fist while using her right to poke him violently in the chest.

"Did it even occur to you that maybe I grew _fond_ of him, over the time we spent together?" She tried to keep her voice under control, but it wobbled as what had just happened completely sank into her. "Did it ever occur to you that I didn't want you to _ruin _our relationship?"

"'Relationship'?" He repeated, the same dumbfounded expression still present. "You're in a relationship?"

"Not the kind you're thinking of." She snapped, her anger slashing out from her like a whip. "But thanks _ever so much_ for destroying what little chance there was of there ever being one!"

"Chance of – Hermione what are-?" He spluttered, his face gradually glowing a deep red. "Do you - Are you saying you-"

"Yes, I do." The bushy-haired girl said, her face flushed and her hair falling haphazardly out of her braid. "I like him! I like Draco Malfoy!"

"After everything he's _done_ to you?" The disbelief and near fright disappeared from his expression and was replaced by anger and horror. This was bad. This was not how she was supposed to tell him. At all.

"No, Ron, after everything he's done _for_ me." She corrected, fisting her skirt in discomfort.

"Really?" Her friend demanded, running a hand through his hair and tugging so ferociously she thought for a moment it would rip from the scalp. "What's he done for you, then? Only calls you a – _that word_ once a week? Is that it? How generous."

"He's stopped altogether. We've come to an understanding." Hermione's anger had been displaced by a desperation that Ron understand that he was a different person that they'd all thought originally. By grasping onto that idea she was able to somewhat stem the emotional pain that had accompanied Draco's expression. "You don't know him like I do."

"You probably don't know him at all!" He shot back, raising his voice. "He's probably been feeding you a bunch of lies to win you over-"

"You had no problems getting along with Blaise this morning!"

"That's because he's friends with Harry! You're a girl!"

"A _girl_? Are you saying that because I'm female my judgement of someone is worse than yours?" Her breathing was coming in short gasps and her voice was rapidly changing pitch.

"Face it, Hermione. Malfoy's a good looking bloke, so he drops the evil and puts on the charm! You're a girl, so if he's been flirting with you your feelings might change." Her expression was murderous but he didn't seem to care, instead seeming as though he could continue their fight for quite some time. It was becoming too much for her. A pressure seemed to be building in her skull, distorting how she felt and making it hard to focus. First Draco and now Ron.

"Stop it!" She cried out, holding up her hand. "Just stop. I-I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"What?" He gaped at her, "Well _I_ do."

"Come back when you talk in a civilised and unbiased way." Her voice cracked. "I don't expect you to understand what its like to realize you fancy a person a great deal and know that not only should you really not, but your friends, family and your entire House disapproves of it without knowing! Now we have the one potion left and he hates me and then we'll just go back to our old lives, where we all just sit around hating Slytherins because of their characteristics and grouping people together while we try and be noble and fight against people who do the exact same thing!"

"_Hermi_-"

"I don't expect you to realize that you and Malfoy have grown up with similarities. You were both raised to hate each other before you'd even met based on reputation," She wiped angrily at her eyes, wishing that the tears would stay captive there and not stream down her cheeks as they were doing. "Just leave, alright?"

Without waiting for him to do anything she went and sat on the edge of the bathtub, leaning over to place her head in her hands. The harsh breathing of the Weasley filled the room and then his footsteps moved towards the door. Before he left completely he stopped and spoke, his voice soft and pained. "I don't think you realized what it's like when the person you always thought you would be with has found someone else to depend on."

She didn't hear him leave, but she knew he had when Harry spoke awkwardly from where he'd stood throughout the argument. "Hermione…"

"I'd like you to just leave." She whispered into her hands. "Please."

In a moment of perception he didn't protest and did as she had asked.

If she had known, at breakfast, that her day would include not only hurting Draco and turning him completely against her in all senses but also offending Ron and getting into a huge fight she might not have even left her room. Hell, if she'd known the previous summer that upon her return to Hogwarts she would watch a friend be murdered, fall for Draco Malfoy and consequently lose him, and drift apart from her two best friends she probably wouldn't have even come back.

_Pull yourself together._ Hermione ordered herself, wiping underneath her eyes and standing up, sucking in deep breaths of air. _It's fine. Everything is going to work out. _With shaking fingers she pulled out her messy hair and put it in a bun, splashed cold water on her face and tried to smile into the mirror. It took several times before it looked like a smile and not a grimace, but when she was satisfied with its somewhat normal appearance, she took another breathe and left the bathroom.

It was strange that only forty-five minutes had passed when she felt as though days had gone by. The Common Room was suspiciously normal and was empty except for Blaise, who sat on a chair and stared thoughtfully at the floor, his brow crumpled. She thought she saw Chester dart through his portrait, but he was gone too fast to tell. Ron had either left or was holed up in Harry's room, however Morag was also absent so she suspected the former.

The handsome male on the couch surveyed her as she came out, his slanted eyes narrowed contemplatively. She stared back into his eyes guiltily, a thick feeling filling her throat. He probably knew everything. Draco had probably told him what had happened and now she'd lost the somewhat shaky friendship they'd developed through the assignment. "Are you OK?"

"Sure." She replied hoarsely, wondering miserably why he'd even asked. For a moment she considered asking him whether he really did know, but instead she shook her head and changed the subject. "We should go back. Can you get Malfoy?"

"I suppose." His eyes seemed to peer right into her mind and she shifted, defensiveness jumping to attention.

"Do you mind? It's rude to stare." She said snappily, "Are you going to get him or not?"

"Fine, I'll get him." He replied in a chilly voice, standing up and pushing violently away from the couch. After he'd banged on the blonde's door, he continued over to Harry's and called him out, stalking over to the couch and picking up his bag.

_Great. Just fantastic, now I've put _him_ in the worst mood ever. _She thought to herself, stiffening as Draco emerged from his room with an icy expression on his face. Their eyes met and she tried to communicate, in some way, how _wrong_ what he thought was. He met her gaze and then turned away, not in defeat or submission, but in what appeared to be disgust.

As the four – not five, her mind reminded her sadly – left the room, Blaise fell into step with Draco and she could almost hear him questioning the blond. She and Harry walked side by side but she couldn't bring herself to speak. Her head was pounding, she had an awful headache, her throat felt like it was full of cotton balls and she was unbelievably tired, for such an early hour.

"-don't think sh-"

"Shut up." She heard Draco's voice, tense and angry. "I don't care about her anymore. She's nothing to me."

She closed her eyes, wishing she could block out everything else.

-

-

The last instructions were puzzling. It told them to ladle out one tube full of the potion and have the person drink it, and then add dittany and turn counter clockwise once. Hermione knew dittany, unless it had some unknown properties she was unaware of – unlikely – was a time extending ingredient. If added to a potion, it did very little to its original makeup, however it prolonged the potion's affect. She couldn't think of a reason why they would need that in the potion after whoever was chosen had take some already…

Nevertheless, she called Draco back in – cringing under his icy glare and stony silence – and then added the last ingredient, waiting for the potion to send the paper shooting from its depths. She snuck a glance at him, but the contemptuous and withering scowls he was shooting into the cauldron made her want to burst into tears.

Finally, when there was total silence as every group waited for the paper, theirs shot it up into the air. Draco's hand reached forward instinctively and caught it. He looked down and his eyes narrowed.

_Draco._

She couldn't contain a small sigh of relief and immediately regretted it as his expression soured further – if possible. His hands shook, whether from anger, nervousness or a combination she didn't know, as he ladled out the potion into a small tube. For a moment he hesitated and the flurry of movement around them as one partner from each group took the potion slowed around her – it could have been a second, or a minute, or an hour. He was looking at her intently, as though searching for something, but when she met his eyes he shook his head and downed the potion quickly.

There was a moment of tense silence and she waited, expecting his eyes to flash a different colour – but nothing happened. "It'll probably take a moment." She murmured to reassure herself that nothing was wrong and set about adding in the dittany, barely hearing Draco mutter something about a headache and hurry from the room.

It wasn't until she heard Lisa exclaim in alarm that she noticed Theodore was gripping the sides of the desk in front of him, hunched over with his eyes shut tight. "Theo? What's wrong? Oh God, I've messed it up – Where does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt." He said through gritted teeth, "It doesn't hurt it just…it's bright."

"Oh my God he's seeing The Light!" Lisa became nearly hysterical as Hermione noticed other people displaying the same symptoms of Theodore. Ron was bent double, clutching his head and insisting that he wasn't in pain either, that it was just too _bright _to a worried and horrified Morag. Blaise had sunk to the ground, leaning against the wall and pressing his forehead to his knees while Harry hovered anxiously around him

Whirling around she tried to find Draco, her mind frantically trying to remember why he'd left just as the surface of her potion – and, she noticed, those of all around her – began to shimmer again and pieces of paper flew from them.

_Hermione._

Her heart was pounding in her chest and she saw Harry staring at the paper in his hand, too. "Are you going to drink it?" She asked, even as her body moved towards the door.

"I don't know, something's wrong-"

Draco was just outside, leaning against the corridor wall and clutching his head in a similar fashion as Ron had. "What's going on?"

She heard herself ask worriedly, feet slapping the stone as she ran to his side. "I don't know. I just- there's this light-"

"Don't go to the light!" She cried out in spite of herself. He looked up between his arms, his fingers meshing with his pale blonde hair. Somehow he managed to look amused.

"I'm not dying."

"Aren't you in pain?" She moved his arms aside and slipped a cool hand on his forehead. It felt fine.

"No. It just – its this light and its so bright and I can't focus with it and it doesn't hurt but it - I can't explain it. Do you really think they'd give us a potion that would kill us?" He spoke a lot more easily than Theodore, but strain was evident in his voice. "Go back in there and drink yours."

"What?" She hissed, not even questioning how he knew she was also supposed to drink some. "No."

"You have to drink it." He insisted, his eyes fluttering shut and his arms cradled his head. "This is probably a short term side effect. Just bring it out and when I'm OK, drink it."

"Come inside." Hermione insisted, "Just to be sure. That way if anything happens-"

"I didn't realize you cared so much." He muttered sarcastically, his hate infused glare returning now as he staggered to his feet. "I don't need help." He shook off her arm and staggered after her to the door.

When she opened it, she saw the last thing she'd ever expected to see in her life. In fact, if the shell shocked faces and frozen stances were any inclination, no one in the room seemed to have understood what had happened, either. Everything seemed to be in order – at first glance, perhaps, no one would notice that the classroom was different than it had been ten minutes ago.

She turned to exchange a shocked look with Draco but was even more startled when he wasn't there. It was ridiculous to think that what had happened to the others hadn't happened to him. Turning her gaze downward, she stared into the grey eyes of a small boy with blond hair as he stared up at her with the childish innocence of five or six year old.

_Oh my Merlin. _

**Author's Note: I really am sorry about the lateness. I don't know how I get so behind, but I hardly realize that it's been two months since my last update until I'm supposed to be doing homework and drift off to fanfiction instead. I've been especially lately because of all the work I've got and this chapter was not flowing as easily as I would have liked. Once again, sorry.**

**If anyone is interested, I'm going to try to update my profile a bit more so that if you check you can see how far along I am with the chapters and such. :) I also have a new poll up in regards to HOH, so if you're a reader, please vote!**

**Review review review! **


	32. Returned to Infancy

**Author's Note: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I should make a song. If I did, those would be the lyrics. I appreciate all your reviews, so thank you very much for them! I am sure you can imagine my shock when I saw that in less than a month, we are approaching this story's third birthday. Or at least, until I began to look through it and realized how awful the beginning chapters are. I have started editing – coughrewritingcough – them, which might somewhat explain my lack of updates. But not quite.**

**Get ready, this is a long chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own it. I'm so astonished that after all this time I've dedicated, Harry Potter and etc. etc is not mine. –sniffs- Not.**

"Who are you?" Draco asked her, looking up in confusion and folding his small arms across his chest. The robes that Draco had worn were swimming around him and, unthinkingly she waved her wand to shrink them to the right size while she scrambled to grasp the situation.

"I'm… Hermione." She finally managed to choke out and just stared at him, totally dumbfounded. What were they going to do? How much did they remember? What were they supposed to tell the children in regards to why they were at Hogwarts? Some of them were muggleborns - how would they explain _magic_?

"Why am I here, with you, and not at home, with my family?" He asked her, reminding her so vividly of his modern day self that she had to blink.

"Er…" She was at a complete and utter loss for words. He was a child. A _child_. Fortunately she was saved by answering as a black blur raced out the classroom door, followed by Harry's voice. "Wait! Stop!"

"Draco!?" Blaise said excitedly, practically bouncing up and down on his small feet and wringing his hands excitedly. "Draco! Why are _you_ here?"

"Blaise? Why are _you_ here?" Draco stared at the other boy with confusion, momentarily distracted as he turned to face his friend. Hermione hadn't realized they'd known each other for so long, but it would probably be good that some of them were acquainted.

"We're in Hogwarts." His friend replied confidentially, leaning forward. "Guess who else is here. Guess!"

"Who?"

"_Harry Potter_." The small black boy squeaked, pointing as Harry came through the door. "There he is now!"

"Blaise, stop it-"

"He knows my name." Continued Blaise, smiling in a way that suggested he was completely enthused. He clasped his hands together, wringing them excitedly, and cast furtive looks at the object of his admiration.

"Why is he so big?" Draco asking, his voice no longer inflicted by the customary drawl he always had. Perhaps he didn't learn how to use it until later. "Isn't he our age?"

"Who cares? It's magic, probably. He has _The Scar_." Hermione couldn't help but laugh at how outgoing Blaise had been as a child, which redirected their attention back at her. "Who's she?"

"Hermione." The two boys observed her silently, arms crossed, as though she wouldn't notice. She saw their eyes traveling all over her, resting on places of interest like her Gryffindor colours and finally on her hair.

"I like her hair." Blaise finally announced, nodding. "It's big."

"And fuzzy." Draco agreed, admiring it with wide eyes. "And poofy."

"So uncontrolled."

"And wild."

"Like a rebel." Concluded Blaise, and held out his hand. "Hi. I'm Blaise Zabini."

"Hermione Granger." She shook his hand, stifling a laugh with difficulty.

"Granger? I've never heard of that family before." Draco said, frowning concentration. "Are you from this country?"

"I'm muggleborn." She watched his face carefully, but he seemed to accept that without problem. When was it, then, that he'd been exposed to hatred for muggleborns?

"Hermione," Harry's voice drew her attention and he held out a folded up piece of parchment in one hand and a vial with her potion in the other. "These all appeared after the p - after they changed. You might want to read yours."

"You're friends?" Blaise ogled them with something akin to hero worship.

"Er, yeah." Her ravenhaired friend was obviously uncomfortable. "Read it, quickly."

She unfolded the parchment and scanned it quickly, holding the vial upright in her other hand.

_You will have noticed by now that your partner is now a child of five years old. You must inform them that their parents have dropped them off to visit Hogwarts for a few days, and that you have been paired up with them to take care of them. Everything you will need is in their room. You must bring them to all your classes and cannot let them go with another student who is not in your grade without your Head of House's permission. You must now proceed to drink your vial of the potion, now, if you have not done so already._

"OK." She said, nodding and slipped it into her pocket. "Thanks. Did you drink yours?"

"Yeah. Nothing's happened, though." He shrugged, and continued, to her astonishment. "Must be the dittany."

She threw back the vial, pleasantly surprised that it tasted like blackberries. "I've never felt so weird in my life. He's so small!"

Harry grinned at her. "Wait until you see-"

An orange blur darted from the classroom, squealing loudly. "Harry Potter is here! Harry Potter is here!"

"Is that…" She stared, openmouthed and aghast. A red-headed boy was darting around hysterically, his hands thrown in the air and his mouth open in a gleeful smile.

"Ron." Finished Harry, nodding and still smiling. "Yeah."

Noticing their gazes, the small Weasley blushed darkly and straightened up. Morag stumbled out of the classroom, looking around wildly, and noticed his charge standing, abashed, by the wall. "Ron! Don't run away like that! You scared me!"

"Are you a Weasley?" Draco asked curiously, leaning around Blaise and staring at him with his nose slightly in the air. _Uh oh. _She thought, preparing herself to intervene.

"Yeah. Are you a Malfoy?" Ron countered, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Yeah." Answered the blond and then he and Blaise pounced, looking at his face and poking his freckles with fascination, before tugging on his hair and laughing over the colour.

"Hey! Hey get off! Get off!" Ron's voice was high and shrill, but he was laughing and so were the other two. Hermione watched with another jolt of shock as the three boys made friends by intruding on each other's personal space. Then they started comparing Draco's pale white skin to Ron's freckled skin to Blaise dark skin and giggling over the difference.

"This is kind of eerie." Harry commented as they stood, observing the childish behavior of their friends. Or, at least, her one friend. She was pretty sure she'd ruined everything she'd had with the Slytherins, not that she'd really had much with Blaise anyway. It was mostly Draco she was upset about. "I think the first Weasley/Malfoy friendship was just made."

"Its too bad once he's back to normal he'll just go back to his old prejudiced self and start hating Malfoy again." She muttered bitterly, despite how difficult it was to stay mad while he was right in front of her in the form of a child.

"That's not very fair." Harry said, "Ron hasn't been around you two this whole time and so he hasn't noticed that you two have changed. And his family has been treated really badly by the Malfoys. Obviously he'd be a little angry about it. It's not like Malfoy's an angel, anyway."

"You don't seem very mad." She pointed out, sounding petulant and childish in a cringe-worthy way. She averted her eyes to avoid looking at him.

"I've been around you two a lot." He said quietly, "I'm not happy about it, you know. But I can't be mad because of how you feel. Too many friendships are destroyed that way."

Hermione's thoughts drifted to Gavin and Chris, who weren't friends anymore, and how the same thing had almost happened to Blaise and Draco. Her mind continued, wandering through the arguments Harry and Ron had had because of jealousy and anger, and how long those fights could have gone on for. Finally, she came to rest on her situation with Draco.

If he remained mad at her after the assignment, that would be the end. There would be no need to make an effort at all if they weren't in such close quarters. With a jolt, she realized that if she got him to just _listen_ to her, she could explain everything! She hadn't thought of it before, because she'd been too wrapped up in her horror. He would recognize that, yes, initially she'd been trying to be nicer for the Order but, somewhere along the way, had started to like him. All she needed was for him to pay attention, and what better way that when he didn't realize he was mad in the first place?

"Harry, you're a genius!" She said, hardly believing she hadn't realized it before. Whenever Draco came into the picture, her reason and ability to see it went out the window.

_We are all blind in love._

She smiled thoughtfully, remembering the lines from one of her favourite movies, but it froze on her lips. _We are all blind in_ love_? No. No, I'm not in love with him, I would know. _She thought about Draco for barely a second, letting the way his eyes stared through her and connected to her heart, and how his very presence made her feel warm, and the way his voice sent shiver running through her.

_But I'm falling._

-

-

"I wonder why Pansy isn't here, too." Draco said to Blaise as they followed Hermione and Harry down the hallway. Ron was walking beside his new friends happily, listening to Draco chatter. Blaise's brief moment of hysterical excitement was just that – brief. He was now much more subdued and listened intently to everything the little Malfoy said.

She felt a jolt in her stomach and looked at the wall as they passed by. "Maybe she's busy." She finally choked out, drawing their confused eyes.

"I thought maybe her mum and dad wouldn't let her." Draco continued, oblivious to her emotional distress. "Since they're so protective. I bet they'll be the same with her kids, too."

Harry blanched visibly and she rested her hand on his shoulder for a short moment. "Are any of you hungry?" Morag asked, his hands shoved in his pockets and an awkward expression on his face.

"I am." Announced Ron brightly, the thought of food making his whole face light up.

"I suppose we should have lunch, then?" She wondered how the rest of the school would respond to the children. Most would probably be shocked.

"Are we going to the Great Hall?" Blaise asked with reverence, his eyes wide. It seemed he was quite enthusiastic about Hogwarts, because as they walked down the hall he was constantly pointing at things and saying things like, "Is that Nearly Headless Nick? I've read about him!"

"Yeah." Harry replied, which sent Blaise into a fit of happiness.

To her relief, they were not the first group to reach the Great Hall, so the shock had already been introduced. The students were buzzing with excitement, and she noted with amusement that a small group of girls were giggling around a small Seamus, whilst Goyle stood awkwardly to the side. Similarily, a group of Hufflepuff fifth or sixth years were crowding adoringly around the child Crabbe.

"Is that…_No_." She heard someone whisper as she walked by to the sixth year table.

"Is that Ron?" Ginny burst into laughter when she saw her little brother, who stood gaping at her in pure astonishment.

"Ginny?" His small face was screwed up in confusion. "You look like my sister. Except old."

"Er, no." She said quickly, glancing at Harry. He smiled at her, shrugging.

"She's probably one of your cousins." Draco said knowledgably, "You have so many."

"Yeah." Ginny said, "I'm one of your cousins. Cousin…Er, Wilma."

"Wilma." Ron wrinkled his nose, "I don't remember you."

"We're distantly related." Ginny said hurriedly, "Very distantly."

"OK." Ron said, accepting that answer. Harry entangled his hand with Ginny's and tugged her gently to their table. Blaise was watching, agog. Ginny gave him an you-do-realize-you're-staring look, but when he didn't respond, settled for being amused.

"Theo!" A high pitched voice called out and they all turned, interest diverted from Ginny.

"Ooh, its Millie." Draco cackled evilly, "He's in for it now!"

"Why didn't you owl me?" Hermione watched as a slightly heavyset young girl with dark black hair threw herself to an equally dark haired boy that she guessed was Theodore Nott.

"Er…" Theodore flushed a dark red colour and attempted to detach himself from the eager girl. He ducked his head, as though if he couldn't see the people watching him, they wouldn't be able to see him. "Get off."

"Haven't you missed me?" She reached back enough to beam at him and then hugged him tightly again.

"No." He responded, resorting to shaking his entire body in an effort to remove her. The second she let go he ran in their direction, having spotted Draco. "Draco! Hide me."

"Millie, stop running away!" Susan Bones intercepted Millicent before she could make it over to them and the young girl made a disappointed face. After waving to Theodore and sticking out her tongue she consented to following Susan to the other end of the table.

"Theo?" Lisa was darting through the crowd of students, their charges, and other members of Hogwarts who'd wandered over to look closely at their young peers. "Oh, there you are! I looked away for _one _minute! Oh, hi Hermione. Hi Harry."

"Hi." She nodded, smiling as Lisa lifted Theodore's hand and placed it in her own. "Interesting, er, results."

"Yeah, really!" Her bright eyes shone. "It's the weirdest thing having them – er, taking care of younger children!"

"It looks like Dumbledore's going to say something." Harry nodded to the front table, where their Headmaster had stood. She said a quick goodbye and found a place that would accommodate them all, before sitting down with Draco beside her. He was looking around their table, his face lighting up with recognition when he saw those he knew. He was completely adorable and she couldn't help but smile at him, instantly affectionate.

"Guests to Hogwarts," he spoke quietly as soon as the babble died down and everyone was seated. "I would like to extend welcome on behalf of our school. We are pleased that you could join us for a few days. Hopefully your introduction to Hogwarts will be an exciting and worthwhile experience." He smiled and she thought she might have heard Blaise squeak. "Your guardians will help you with anything you need, and the rest of the school will be ready to assist you should you need it. Dig in."

Ron's face took on an expression of pure, unadulterated joy when the food appeared before him and he began reaching for chicken with one hand and potatoes with another. Draco looked startled and delighted and looked at her, "Is it real?"

"Of course!" She said, grinning. "What would you like? Chicken, kidney pie, steak, pork…"

"Chicken!" Draco gave a delighted cheer as she placed a piece on his plate, but his expression fell when she also gave him carrots. "But Hermiown…"

She paused in pouring him some juice, trying not to laugh. "It's Her-My-o-nee."

His face scrunched up. "Hermyohnee?"

Harry was in a silent fit of laughter beside her, something she hadn't seen in awhile and was pleased to notice. "Repeat after me. Her."

"Her." Draco said, watching her with wide, concentrated eyes.

"My." She said patiently, pouring herself some juice as well.

"My."

"Oh. But it's not a stressed oh." She tried to explain in a way he would understand, but he picked up on what she said and repeated it back to her. "Knee."

"Knee. Hermione." He laughed happily and reached over, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I like you."

Something pulled on her heart and she couldn't help beaming down at him. "I like you, too."

Hermione was a bit surprised when, over the course of dinner, their children's personalities came forth and she noticed how different many of them were presently. Draco chattered about everything and anything, from his parents, to his favourite books, to playing Quidditch outside, to all his friends. He was buoyant and happy and had the cutest smile on his face. Blaise was enthusiastic and extremely excitable, and also seemed to have a strange obsession with Harry and his greatness. He wasn't as talkative as Draco, but he was much more outspoken and less withdrawn than he'd been at Hogwarts. Theodore Nott was unbelievably shy and blushed if someone so much as addressed him. He didn't seem at all like someone who might say 'who gives a flying fuck' to the Headmaster.

Ron was… something else entirely. He was constantly giggling, exclaiming and eating, though that part wasn't a very big change, to be honest. Seamus had the cutest Irish accent when combined with his high pitched voice, but he was awfully shy and didn't seem to want to use it. Crabbe was extremely cute, in a strange way. He looked a bit like he'd been squashed into a smaller version of himself, with a rounder face and a brighter expression.

"Do you have classes now?" Draco asked enthusiastically, hopping off the bench to stand beside her.

"Not today." She said, shaking her head. "We've been given some time off to, er, show you around the castle."

"Oh, excellent!" Blaise exclaimed cheerfully, "Do we get to see the Common Rooms?"

"Yeah! Can we see the Gryffindor Common Room? We know you're Gryffindors!"

"I want to be a Gryffindor." Ron announced, and then his face crumpled. "But I don't think I'm very brave."

"You are." Harry said, looking at him seriously. "I think you're one of the bravest people I know."

Hermione felt a swell of something in her heart as Ron flushed a deep crimson and opened her mouth to speak, however before she could someone else approached them. The sight of him made her smile wryly, glancing down at Blaise who, of course, did not know him. "Hello, Gavin."

"Hi." He grinned briefly at them, before looking intently at Blaise. "I thought I'd come over and say hello. I see that…"

"Yeah. This is Blaise Zabini." Harry said, trying to stifle a laugh. "He's come to visit Hogwarts for a bit. Blaise, this is Gavin."

"Hi." Replied the small boy, his attention focused entirely on what he would be seeing in the castle to the extent that he barely looked at Gavin. "Do I know you? You look familiar."

"I don't think we've met." The Ravenclaw replied, "Maybe you've seen me earlier today."

"Are you sure?" Blaise turned finally, his whole attention to the male before him, and scrutinized him. "I _feel _like I know you." After a short pause he declared – "I've decided I like you."

"I'm glad." At this point, the tall Ravenclaw was grinning. "I should go to class. See you later." As he passed by he reached out and tweaked Blaise's nose, who giggled and watched him walk away happily.

"Do we get to see the castle now?" Draco looked imploringly at her, his eyes opened wide and his mouth in a hopeful smile. "Please?"

"Sure!" She stood up and shouldered her bag, wishing she hadn't brought her Transfiguration textbook, because she hadn't even needed it. "Let's go."

Because Ron, Blaise and Draco were now steadfast friends, Morag was forced to come along with her and Harry. He wasn't in a very happy mood and was quite awkward with the children, so he mostly kept silent and looked pained. To be honest, he was a bit irritating and, on the occasion he did say something, none of the children actually understood it and he didn't seem inclined to explain in a way that they would, which just added pain to the group's excursion.

They toured the castle for the better part of the afternoon, which gave Hermione a whole knew appreciation for how big it was. And also how many staircases there were. And how many times the staircases changed. Which was disconcertingly often. Nevertheless, it was difficult to feel a desire to stop with the exuberant exclamations from their charges over everything they saw. It was both interesting and refreshing that everything was so new and exciting with them – no detail was too small to be significant.

By the time they returned to their dormitory, Hermione was convinced she hadn't properly enjoyed the splendor and beauty of Hogwarts for several years, and vowed take a more refreshing look at it during school hours.

Draco, who seemed to have endless supplies of energy even after traipsing around the castle announced his need to play a game, and then waited for them to start suggesting something he could play.

"What kind of game?" She wracked her brain for the kinds of things she'd wanted to do as a child. "Hide and Go Seek?"

"Yes! That one!" Ron began, eyes lighting up instantly. "Let's play it!"

She began to list off the rules immediately while Harry surveyed the room dubiously. There really didn't seem to be too many places to hide, so she told them they could also hide in the other rooms, except the Potions room, which she proceeded to lock.

"You can be it, Hermione!" Blaise said, pointing at her as though she didn't realize who she was. "You be it!" Immediately Ron and Draco joined in until she assented, which she did very fast before they could get too excited and start acting like maniacs. They'd done so earlier over their joy at finding a hidden passageway and had proceeded to run through it and dash around the third and fourth floor, with Hermione and Harry chasing them and Morag trailing behind.

"I'm going to count to 50." She said gravely, looking seriously at them and trying not to smile. "You'd better hide well. 1…2…3…4…5…"

High pitched snickers ran left and right, quieting down after they lodged themselves in a good hiding place. She was pretty sure she heard Morag – who had gamely joined in- move past her to the bathroom, and the sound of someone – maybe Harry? – plunking them self down on the floor, and then Harry whispering "shhh."

"48…49…50! Here I _come_." She called in a sing song voice, wandering over to Blaise's room. "I wonder if someone is in _here_."

The muffled laughter greeting her outward pondering informed her that no, no one was, so she pushed the door open and stepped inside. She announced each of her actions out loud for the benefit of her listeners ("Is he in the closet?") and made quick work of checking out the better hiding places before she came back out.

"I suppose they're better hiders than I thought." She waltzed over to Draco's room. "Maybe someone's in here?" Hesitating only slightly before opening it she tugged on the door's handle and it opened with a click. For a moment seeing his belongings made her suck in a breath and a lump to form in her throat. Everything was so familiar, from his wand there on the table – she picked that up and stowed that with her own, glad that Draco hadn't found it and started using it. She would give it back later. The wonderful, clean smell that always seemed to linger on him filled the room and she tried to stop herself from inhaling.

_It would be creepy if you did that. _She told herself, and looked at the bottles on his chest of drawers, her thoughts drifting past what her eyes were seeing. _If only I'd known he was there. If only I'd talked to him! I should have told him how I felt before it all happened…_

"Is someone hiding in the closet?" She started up half heartedly, realizing she'd been silent for awhile and walked over, tugging the doors open. Rows of black robes lined it, and she was amused to note that he seemed to have added depth to the back to fit more clothing in there.

Hermione felt like a pretty big creep at that point, being in his room. With Blaise it had merely been checking under the bed of her friend, whereas in this case she was in the room of someone whom she had romantic feelings and it was horrifically awkward. It was like an invasion of privacy.

"Maybe Draco is under the bed." She said loudly, getting onto her knees to peer underneath. Her eyes alighted on the few things that were under there, including a sock, a broken quill and a piece of crumple parchment. Shaking her head with a smile she pulled them out – holding the sock cautiously away from her – and was about to drop the parchment into the bin when she thought she saw Pansy's name.

_Snooping is very, very wrong. _She told herself, scolding her thoughts of opening it. _I should have left that stuff under the bed. It's not a big deal. So what? It says Pansy's name. Do. Not. Read. It._

She opened up the paper, ignoring her conscience, and smoothed it down by pressing it to the wall. Her eyes read the words and she swallowed. It seemed to be an attempt at writing the speech for her funeral.

_Pansy was a great person whose life was taken much too soon. Many people will remember her for that, including me. She_

Underneath were a series of distracted doodles, the kind of which she'd noticed on his parchment if he was thinking about a particularly difficult question to answer during class. There was a hippogriff there, two wizards dueling and – she sucked in a breath – the initials HG entwined together. She stared and everything else – the game she was supposed to be playing, the situation with Draco, the fact that her classmates were children – seemed to flood from her mind, leaving only those two curly letters.

_Lots of things have the initials HG. _She told herself, shaking her head and crushing the paper so it resembled its previously agitated state, before dropping it in the bin. _It could be Hagrid…or, er…Hugh Grant! Yes, it could be that. Oh, no he's muggle…Hayden…that actor…Hayden Westbrook! Oh, no that couldn't be it._

She was wringing her hands and biting her lip, walking around his room with no thought to what she was supposed to be doing. _Oh! Of course, it must be that archeologist who found the runes we studied a few weeks ago. Halfred…Halfred…Jacksmit! Halfred Jacksmit! Oh. No that's HJ…_

_It could Hermione Granger. _A tantalizing voice whispered in her head and she couldn't prevent the butterflies erupting in her stomach. If they were deliberately her initials, it would mean he'd been thinking about her when she hadn't been there. A smile filled her face, despite her attempts to reason with herself, and she left his room.

"I found you Morag!" She cried jubilantly, telling herself it was for the children's benefit and _not _because she'd found some parchment in Draco's room with her initials on it.

Morag got up from where he'd cleverly laid on the floor on the other side of the couch and brushed his legs off. She ignored the orange-red she could see in her peripheral vision and said gaily, "You'll have to help me find the others! They're too good at hiding."

"There's Ron there." Morag pointed to the bookshelf, where Ron was peering around. "Why are you talking so loudly?"

"Children's games are wasted on you." Hermione informed him, sighing as Ron joined them, looking extremely sad. The male before her looked offended and she resisted the urge to sigh again, struck by her longing for Draco's company. He would have laughed and replied with something witty.

"Are those giggles I hear?" She turned from him, resuming her too-loud voice. "Is someone laughing?"

The noises she heard coming from the table in the corner were quieted, punctuated by the sound of a hand clapping over a mouth. She began to advance in that direction, purposefully not looking underneath it, where she knew she would encounter an angelic face and platinum blond hair.

"Draco…" She began sweetly. "I…see you!" She ducked under the table quick as a flash and began to tickle him. Shrieking with laughter, Draco rolled out from the table and began to run around the room to get away from her. Ron, quickly forgetting his previous desolation, quickly joined in and soon Blaise had appeared to get his share of the excitement.

Harry emerged from the bathroom to stand beside her, a faint smile flicking across his face. She felt a deep happiness resonate inside her and a peaceful grin formed on her face.

"You know, we're really lucky they're such wonderful children." She turned to Harry, who nodded in agreement.

-

-

"I. Don't. _Wanna take a bath!_" Draco screamed, his blotchy red face screwed up in distress, his petite hands formed in fists where he clutched the towel in his hands.

Hermione stood in the doorway to the bathroom, blocking him from escaping out into the common room. He was standing beside the full bathtub, a thin layer of bubbles resting on top, but his seemingly permanent position did not fool her. "Draco, the water's getting cold. Just jump in the tub, and then you can get right out. I'll show you some magic!"

His lip trembled.

Earlier in the day, when Blaise, Ron and Draco had had a fight about…well, she couldn't quite understand through all the racket, but Blaise had thrown a shoe at Draco's face and he'd sported a rather large bruise, which Hermione had been inclined to heal. In raptures, they'd forgotten their hostility and begged to see more. She hoped the same would apply here.

"I'll show you some more pretty sparks. You liked those, didn't you?" She wished he wouldn't make such a fuss. Blaise had happily jumped in the bathtub and was being fabulously cooperative out in the Common Room now.

"Fine." He said and she breathed a sigh of relief, short lived as it was. "But only if you let me have a try."

"With my wand?" She asked incredulously, instinctively reaching out to put her hand on it. He nodded, his jaw jutting out. "Draco, that's not such a good idea. Why don't-"

He started towards her, an expression of fixed determination and anger on his face. She thought he was going to run past her again, like last time, which she'd spent 10 minutes chasing him around the common room while Blaise cackled delightedly and Harry tried to hide his snickers. He aimed a kick at her shin and she stepped back, wincing. "Ow! Draco, that is _not _OK! Don't close the-" He slammed the door in her face and she sighed, "-door."

"Maybe he'll be more receptive tomorrow." Harry suggested, looking up from the three books he was showing Blaise. The young boy was contemplating each one with intense concentration.

"Maybe." She shook her head and rubbed her temple. "But we have classes all day, and he gets cranky enough when he's dirty as a mature teenager!"

Her friend looked quickly at Blaise, who didn't seem to have heard her or seem bothered by what she'd said, and shrugged. "It doesn't seem like you'll have any more luck now, anyway."

"You're right, of course." She nodded in assent and lifted her hand to knock gently on the door. "Draco? Its OK, you don't have to bathe tonight, if you don't want to."

The door swung open in a wide arch and banged off the wall as Draco darted out, dressed in his pajamas. This made Hermione very suspicious that he knew he would get his way, but the joyful expression on his face made her instantly soften. "Can you read me a story?"

She looked over to Harry, who grinned and shrugged as though to say, 'what can you do?'

-

-

The next morning at breakfast she was exceptionally tired. After reading Draco and Blaise a collective total of five stories – three by her and two by Harry – she'd tucked Draco into bed, a process which took fifteen minutes or bribery and magic. She'd taken her time showering, enjoying the sound of the water hitting the shower floor and her body, and had then realized she hadn't done any homework or revision. This occurred at 9:30, and she'd retired immediately to her room to finish up the questions and perfect the last essay they had until exams.

When she'd woken at 2:30 in the morning, her face pressed into chapter 7 of her Charms textbook, to Draco's distress over a nightmare involving pink Hippogriffs, she'd dragged herself from bed and spent a considerable amount of time comforting him. As soon as she was satisfied that he was sleeping again she stumbled back to her room, put away her notes and fallen asleep immediately, only to get up several hours later to get ready for school.

In the bathroom she'd been horrified by a long, thick line of ink running across the left side of her face and had spent minutes scrubbing away at it in an effort to get it off. By the time it was gone, the area around the remnants of the line was pink and she had an irritated line of skin stretching over her face. She hadn't thought it too visible until they were leaving and Draco, who was still half sleeping, asked with palpable concern what was wrong with her face.

She wasn't the only who looked tired at the sixth year table, at any rate. Lisa sleepily dished some oatmeal into Theodore's bowl and Morag had actually fallen asleep with his face resting on his syrupy waffles, whilst Ron devoured pancakes beside him.

"You look tired." Gavin exclaimed when he came over to greet them. Blaise waved cheerily at him but didn't speak, opting to gnaw on his apple instead.

"Long night." She said, forcing a bit of dry toast down her throat. It scratched all the way down and she winced.

"If you want some down time after dinner I could come and watch them for a bit." He offered and she was completely certain, with a high level of paranoia, that he was purposefully _not_ looking at her face.

"That would be great." She answered, taking a sip of tea with the hope it would wake her up.

"I slept great." Harry put in, fondly cutting slices out of Blaise's apple. "He was great last night, not one fight."

"Lucky for you." She grumbled and opted for coffee instead, wishing somewhat that they were given espresso in the morning, too. "Don't we have to ask McGonagall, though?"

"Not if I'm there. Plus, you'll just be sleeping anyway." Harry said, reaching for a piece of toast.

"Sounds like a plan." Gavin grinned at Blaise and ruffled Draco's hair as he walked away. The rest of breakfast was spent consoling Draco, who was traumatized by having his hair messed up.

Thankfully, after his good mood was regained, he lasted quite well through her classes. For Potions he spent most of the time asleep beside her, and in Ancient Runes he was immediately satisfied when she transfigured some crayons for him and gave him some parchment to draw on.

"Look, Hermione!" He said proudly, holding out his third drawing. In the very centre, holding a wand that had sparks exploding from it, stood a girl with jagged brown spikes coming from her head. Holding her hand was a little boy who had blond hair. To Hermione's right was Harry, who had an exaggerated scar and a bunch of black scribbles on his head.

"That's because his hair is so messy." Draco spoke so seriously she stifled a snort with difficulty. Blaise was beside Harry and on Draco's right was Ron.

"Whose that girl?" She pointed to the last stick figure in the picture.

"That's Pansy." He replied matter-of-factly. "She's my friend. You'd love her, if you met her."

"I'm sure I would." She said hoarsely, a lump in her throat. "Where's Morag?"

"He's not there, because I don't like him." He wrinkled his nose, "He's so _plebian_."

She laughed outright, drawing curious looks from her classmates. It was strange, the incredible similarities and differences in personality Draco had from when he was a child. He took the paper and wrote very, very carefully on the top. "There!" Holding it out, she read the two words. 'Best friends.'

She stared emotionally at the page for a long moment. "This is beautiful. Can I keep it?"

"Yup!" Oblivious to the state of her emotions he flipped it over and, his tongue sticking out of his mouth, wrote To Hermyonee, Love Draco. "What should I draw next?"

"Whatever you want." She said slowly, accepting the picture and tucking it into her bag.

"Hey, Hermione?" She noticed that he had a tendency to use her name a lot, as thought it was because he was smug that he could pronounce it properly. She turned to look at him and for some reason, the earnest, wide expression in his eyes made her sure he was going to say something groundbreaking.

"I have to go to the bathroom," he whispered.

-

-

"Lunch time is my favourite time." Ron said happily as they strolled into the Great Hall. He looked on the tables adorned with food with delight.

"Your favourite?" Asked Blaise skeptically. "I don't know when my favourite it."

"Dinner time?" Proposed the redhead innocently as they reached their table.

"Draco has been very good," She was telling Harry, lifting said boy up and onto the bench. She took a seat beside him, smoothing down her skirt. "I hope he stays this way all day. Its like last night never actually happened."

"Hermione," Draco began with the smug voice, "Why does Ron have so many more brothers and sisters than me?"

"Because his mum and dad wanted more children, but yours only wanted you." She explained, pulling over a platter of sandwiches closer for his inspection.

"Oh." He was silent for a moment, ignoring the plate. "Where do the babies come from?"

Harry snorted into his drink, drawing the curiosity of Blaise and Ron, who looked at him with interest. "Babies…er…come from mummy's tummy." She said finally, glaring at Harry's amusement.

"What are we up to?" Ginny came around from behind him and pecked him on the check, sliding onto the bench.

"How do the babies get in mummy's tummy?" Blaise asked curiously, puzzled. He looked confused when Ginny started laughing. Harry followed her gaze and joined in, leaving Hermione to struggle with her own amusement.

"Hermione, how come they think Ron eating that sausage is funny?" Draco asked, whilst Ron ate his food with happiness. He reached for his cup but couldn't get quite it, so she handed it to him and tried to think.

"Because they-" She was saved answering for her friends' perverseness by Blaise spilling his juice and bursting into tears.

-

-

Transfiguration was both the last class of the day and the class where Draco's interest in colouring waned, mostly due to their transfiguring beetles into toads. When Professor McGonagall did a demonstration, he clapped enthusiastically for her, to which all their young companions joined in, and then watched her with adoring idolization. As the proper wand work was explained, he practiced with a rolled up piece of paper, on which there was a picture of a tree.

"You did it wrong." The blond was telling Morag, "That's not a toad. It's not a beetle, either, because you did it wrong."

"Thanks, Draco." Morag replied, looking rather unimpressed by this assessment. He tried the spell again, managing to get one toad leg and three expanded beetles'.

"It _should _look like Hermione's." Draco continued, oblivious of the strain of his correspondent. "But it doesn't, 'cuz you did it wrong."

Harry was frowning at his beetle, which had the mottled green colour of a toad but otherwise held its original shape. He glanced at Hermione's toad, which was hopping around her desk, with disconcerted frustration. "Try to flick it a bit less." She said encouragingly, picking up the amphibian and handing it to Draco, who'd been reaching for it. "It's more of a curved swish."

Ron dozed on the desk to her left and Blaise was staring, concentrated, at the beetle in front of Morag, as though doing so could make his attempts more successful. Judging by the looks the male sent his way, he just found it quite distracting and annoying.

"You're so smart, Hermione." Draco spoke admiringly, gazing at her contemplatively. "So how come you won't tell me where babies come from?"

He asked so sweetly and innocently that she couldn't help but join in the class's laughter. It had been unusually quiet due to a mixture of concentration and tiredness, so it hadn't been hard to hear. The small boy seemed quiet bemused by the laughter and, had she paid attention, she would have noticed The Pout.

"Why won't you tell me?" He demanded, screwing up his face dramatically.

"Ask your mum when you see her next." She said, quickly grabbing her abandoned toad to keep it from leaping away.

"I asked you." He cried out, splotches of colour appearing on his face and she took immediate notice of that, trying to calm him down.

"I'm sorry, Draco." She spoke urgently, aware that more than one person was watching. "I'll show you some magic later. Would you like that?"

"No."

"Oh. Er…Look what I've got!" She cupped her hands together, wishing she had a better way with children. At least she wasn't as terrible as Morag was. Merlin knew how he got Ron to do anything. "Guess what's inside!"

"A toad." He spoke angrily, "I'm not stupid."

"Oh, no of course not!" She discarded the toad down in front of Harry, who didn't seem to know what to do with it. "I know you're not stupid. You're very, very smart. Hey, I have an idea."

"What?" He sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away.

"When we go back to our rooms, we'll hang your pictures up on the walls." She looked imploringly at him. _Please say yes. Please say yes. _When he began to nod slowly she barely refrained from sighing in relief.

A second later the bell rang, startling Ron awake with a loud snort. Draco began to giggle, clamping a hand over his mouth. She grinned at him as the redhead blearily looked around and Blaise cackled hysterically, whilst Harry sniggered and packed his bag.

Happiness restored, Draco grabbed her hand and hummed all the way to the Great Hall.

-

-

Most of the other children were completely fed up with the classes they'd been forced to attend and were in bad tempers. She heard someone yelling quite loudly and, just outside the Great Hall, Seamus was breathing very, very harshly as Goyle tried to calm him down. She was worried Draco might feed off the atmosphere and release all his pent up energy, but a quick glance showed that he seemed unfazed. Ron did as well, which was to be expected, as he was probably used to chaos even at such a young age, with Fred and George. Blaise just appeared slightly afraid, and stepped on Harry's foot when he tried to move away from Theodore Nott, who ran by screaming, followed closely by Millicent.

"Leave him alone, Millie!" Called Susan after her, darting around them.

"Theodore! Stop running away!" Lisa cried in close pursuit.

After steering their way through the chaos they found seats and she began to dish out food. "I like you a lot, Hermione." Blaise said cutely to her as she gave him a piece of roast beef. "I hope the girl I marry is just like you!"

The limited conversation that had been going on around them stilled at his words. Blaise didn't seem to notice the sympathetic looks he was getting and happily struggled with cutting up the meat on his plate. Hermione smiled at him. "Whoever gets your heart one day will be very lucky."

He beamed at her, such frissons of happiness moving through him he hardly noticed as Harry patiently took his fork and knife and relieved him of his task. Draco looked at her, "What about me?"

She paused in the midst of getting herself some Caesar salad, and chose her next words carefully. "The girl who gets to be with you is one of the luckiest in the world."

He obviously didn't hear the underlying seriousness in her tone, as a moment later he was stuffing a potato in his mouth and chewing it heartily. Harry rested his hand on her shoulder briefly, before reaching to grab a roll from the basket in front of her. She found that she wasn't quite as hungry as she'd thought, and spent most of dinner is agitated silence, thinking about Draco.

This potion's week was extended to Saturday, which gave them six days. She came to the fast conclusion that, as they'd both consumed the potion, Draco would become himself after three days and she would take the place of a child. She had only that night and tomorrow to try and come up with a way to reach Draco without deliberately confronting the problem, because she couldn't alert the child Draco to what was going on.

She realized with slight shock that the low, throbbing feeling she felt when she thought of her partner came because she was missing him. After nearly two days she was already longing to be with him again. How was she going to handle it after the assignment was officially over?

Draco, getting tired of asking what was wrong, simply took her hand and walked quietly back to their dormitory. Just as she'd promised, she took out all his pictures but the one she wanted to keep and, one by one, magically attached them to the wall in Draco's room. There were a fair few of them to go up, and by the time she was finished, almost all the walls had been covered, with threads of inch wide spaces between each one.

Gavin was chatting with Harry when she emerged and, after sharing a few words with him that seemed to slur together, she walked up to her room. Inside, she pulled out the last drawing and hung it on her own wall, where it was clearly visible. She then settled down wearily and pulled out her homework. She might as well use her time now, as opposed to sleeping.

She only got to chapter three before her eyes, which had been drooping consistently, closed completely and she fell asleep.

-

-

She woke at 10:00 when the irritating glare from her light became too much to stand. Blinking rapidly she stretched slowly, before pulling herself out of bed and into the Common Room. Harry was there, frowning over some parchment and scratching his forehead as he began to peruse the textbook in front of him. When he heard her door close he looked up. "Oh, hey. Sleep well?"

"Yeah, quite." She replied, covering her mouth as she yawned. "You should have woken me up to put Draco to bed."

He shrugged. "You were tired. I know you've not been sleeping well, since…Well, lately. Draco was worried about you."

"Was he?" Hermione smiled, settling down on the couch across from him.

"Yeah. I told him you just needed some rest. He bathed and everything." He answered, tapping his quill absentmindedly on his parchment. "At first he wanted 'his Hermione,' but after awhile he consented."

"Ooh, good, thanks." She thought with fondness of the little boy, wondering if Draco's memories would be quite as happy as hers were when he went back to his old self.

"You should talk to him." Harry said suddenly, his eyes glittering in a mesmerizing kind of way.

"Draco?"

"When he's back to normal." Her friend continued, as though she hadn't spoken. "You shouldn't let opportunities and people pass you by."

"I don't know. I've made a right mess of it all." She rested her head in her hand, idly playing with the edge of the couch so she wouldn't have to look at him. "I can't help but wonder if maybe I shouldn't…just leave it."

"'Just leave it'?" He quoted skeptically, frowning. "That doesn't sound like a very Hermione-ish thing to do. If he was an essay, you'd be writing an outline on how to go about it."

"I know." She said miserably, "But I've gotten on fine without him, up until now. It would be different, not living together and having to deal with our friends not liking each other…And I'm making the assumption that he even wants to remain friends."

"He's hurt, Hermione." Harry said bluntly. "He's facing a harder time than either of us is, with his parents, and Pansy, and now feeling betrayed by you. You at least owe him an explanation, so he doesn't resent you for all of eternity because he thinks you've been playing his emotions. I'd want to know the truth. And Ron will have to come around to the idea eventually."

"Who are you talking about?" Hermione jumped as a small voice perforated the small silence. "Who thinks Hermione betrayed him?"

"Draco!" She burst out, standing up quickly. "We didn't see you there!"

He looked at her, his eyes wide and unassuming. The best thing about children, she concluded, was that they were extremely unsuspecting. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, loads." She replied quickly, anxiously exchanging a glance with Harry. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I was waiting for you." He said softly. "Can you tuck me in?"

"Yeah. Yes of course." She waved awkwardly to Harry and followed Draco into his room. "You really should be in bed."

"I know, but I wanted to say goodnight to you." He hopped onto his bed, completely unfazed by her discomfort. "Will you be my friend forever?"

She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Of course. I'll be your friend as long as you want me to be."

"Forever, then." He said, satisfied, and pulled up his blanket. She leaned over to kiss his forehead and then sat back, smoothing hair over his head. It would have been a good time to bring up the subject she wanted to discuss, but the moment was so sweet she couldn't bring herself to mar it.

"Goodnight, Draco." She murmured gently as his eyes closed and his breathing evened out. Getting up slowly she wandered to the door and closed it softly, making sure it wouldn't disturb him.

As she brushed her teeth and had a shower she had a lot to think about. The idea of telling Draco how she felt was both terrifying and also slightly satisfying. It would be nice to have it out in the open, so she didn't have to always wonder about how he felt, though she thought she had a pretty good idea about how he felt about her lately. On the other hand, thinking about his rejection made her stomach clench nervously.

The best thing to do, she decided, was to tell him the truth about the Order and that she truly did value him as a friend, but neglect to tell him the true extent of her feelings. That way she could still spend time with him without any hard feelings, but she didn't have to face the humiliation of not having her feelings shared.

It wasn't everything she could hope for, but at the moment, it was enough.

**Author's Note: Quite a long one, I'd say! I was hoping to have all three of Draco's child days in here, but I figured, I really should draw the limit at 15 pages, except them I couldn't figure out a good way to end the chapter, so it ended up being 19.**

**Speaking of the number 19…August 19****th**** is my birthday! Woot woot! Driving! Right now there is a storm and the sky is slightly green, so I will update and then hurry off the computer before it explodes.**

**Hopefully you enjoyed!**

**Review review review!**


	33. A Stick?

**Author's Note: Less time than last time! **

**Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes! I appreciate it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Shocker there.**

The next morning Hermione woke in a good mood. After laying in bed, staring at the ceiling with a groggy smile she came to the conclusion that it must have been from her decision the previous night. Living without Draco was really not something she was looking forward to, but it _would _be nice to be back in the Gryffindor Common Room, her natural environment. All she had to do was talk to him, and then she wouldn't have to literally live _without _him. The two just wouldn't occupy the same living space, which she would undoubtedly miss, but not as much as his psychical presence in her life.

Her tranquility lasted for another minute or so before she heard a quiet bang on the door, the kind that could only be made by a small fist. Hermione dragged herself out of bed and yawned, before moving to open the door. Draco stood outside, a smile on his face that proceeded to melt away all her concern and leave an affectionate beam on her face. "Morning!" He said cheerfully, pushing his way around her and walking into her bed room. "Hey, you put my picture on the wall!"

"Yeah." She followed him inside, sitting down on her bed. He wandered around, his eyes surveying everything, however he didn't touch. "What time is it?"

"I dunno." He replied sweetly, running to her bed and making a large jump. He only made it half on, and had to pull himself up with much struggle and wiggling.

"Oh." She bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud, which would no doubt offend him quite a bit. Her eyes sought out her clock and she read the time aloud. "6:45."

"I should be getting dressed." He lay down beside her, flinging his arms out dramatically. Staring down at him she wondered how he could wake up naturally so early in the morning. When she was young she had to be woken up every single day, unless something special was happening and her excitement interrupted her sleep.

"Why aren't you, then?" She asked, raising her eyebrows quizzically.

"I wanted to see you. Are you feeling better, Hermione?" He asked, the smugness gone from his proper pronunciation of her name and replaced by real concern.

"Loads." She said, smiling at him. "I'm excellent."

"Who thinks you betrayed them?" It seemed that he had a tendency to ask questions with a sugary sweetness so it didn't seem like he was demanding the answer to something she did not want to share, as he did right then.

"Draco…" She trailed off, wondering how to begin. It wasn't exactly the easiest subject to broach. "Have you ever hurt someone you loved? Accidentally, I mean."

"Like when I kicked Blaise in the leg yesterday?" He asked with wide eyes, focusing entirely on her. "And then he said a really _bad_ word?"

"No." She shook her head, feeling her hair brush against her cheeks with the movement. "Have you ever made them upset? Like, hurt their feelings."

"Oh. Yeah." His forehead crumpled and his eyes drooped sadly. "But I didn't mean to."

"That's what happened to me." She explained, tracing patterns over her bedspread to keep from looking at his angelic face. "I accidentally hurt someone I cared about. And he's very upset with me."

"He'll forgive you." Draco promised consolingly, his own sadness forgotten. He reached over and patted her hand.

"Maybe." She replied slowly, "It's very hard to explain the situation."

"Is he your friend?"

"Yes." She answered instantly, and then added, "I think so."

"Friends listen to each other, so he'll _have_ to listen to you." He spoke matter-of-factly, as though there was nothing more simple in the world that that.

"I don't know if he will. I hurt him pretty bad." It felt very strange to be seeking, essentially, relationship advice from a child, and not only that but the person she was trying to reconcile with. "I just need to talk to him, to explain. That's it. One conversation."

"He'll listen. I know." Draco said, looking at her intently. "If you love him, he must love you, too."

She shot him a look that hopefully stated I-don't-love-him-like-you-think-I-do, but knew that denying it out loud would only draw more attention to the subject, so she proceeded to tickle Draco, who immediately started up a familiar chorus of high, shrieking laughter.

It was a good morning.

-

-

Most of her classes but Defense Against the Dark Arts had theoretical review tests that day, so Draco spent a large portion of the morning in complete and utter boredom. It was difficult to focus on writing the quiz when there was a symphony of quiet whining coming from a variety of different places so, as soon as she'd finished in Transfiguration she'd raised her hand and offered to take the children on a walk to calm them down.

That was a mistake.

The moment they stepped outside the classroom, all the energy they'd been trying to keep down and repress had been unleashed on the unsuspecting corridor. Draco had remained loyally by her side, which induced both Blaise and Ron to behave themselves and hover near as well. The other children ran wild.

Millicent, grinning sinisterly, had waved cheerfully at Susan, who'd been so focused on the question she'd been struggling with to notice the conniving expression on her face. Immediately after the door was closed she went after Theodore. The small boy, with a wild, frantic look in his eyes had pleaded with Lisa to let him stay with her, but she had replied that he would have to make friends and should stop being such a baby. When he saw Millicent coming for him he began to run down the hallway, leading an excited gaggle of children who thought it would be fun to join in.

"No, wait, stop!" Hermione called after them, taking off. She was forced to double back and take the hand of Crabbe, who hadn't moved, and then dash off after them. Like wild horses Draco, Blaise and Ron had been overcome by the herd instinct and now the bunch of children was running haphazardly down the hallway. The only glimpses she got of her young charge were flashes of blond hair. "Stop running!"

It was when they reached a double staircase that her nightmare began. The group divided in two and took the different stairs, streaming downwards whilst she stared in horror. They would disappear and she would never find them again. They would get lost in the school and she would be blamed. She would never see her classmates again.

Before she registered what she was doing she'd waved her wand, still holding Crabbe's hand, and cast a shield at the bottom of each seat of stairs, preventing them from continuing. Clearly confused, the infants stopped long enough for her to cast a spell that would create a stone wall at the bottom and keep them there until she could get down there. "Thanks Merlin," she sighed as the groups paused, until one of the stairs began to groan and detached itself, moving away from her.

It was probably the small screams that alerted the people in the classes to the fact that something funny was going on and, when the nearest seventh year Charms class came running, Hermione was practically in a fit of hysteria.

"What's going on?" Gavin asked her, his eyes skimming over the children who now streamlined back up the stairs towards her and those who were on the moving staircase, holding the rungs on the side and crying out with fear.

"Gavin!" Blaise attached himself to his leg while the others were detained by his classmates. "I'm happy you're here!"

"I offered to take them out for a bit. Millicent went after Theodore again." She sighed tragically, watching as someone who'd been about to go up the moving staircase tried to herd the children together and keep them from running.

Gavin absently patted Blaise's head and grinned at her as Draco and Ron joined them. Ron glared jealously at Crabbe, who hadn't moved, and was left without a hand to hold. Hermione gave him a large smile in compensation, which cheered him up consideranbly.

"The staircase will move back eventually, right?" She looked at Gavin, who shrugged, grinning with amusement. Theodore Nott came running over to her and looked like a hunted man, before spotting Millicent on the moved staircase and sighed in relief.

He sat down, smiling. "Lost her again!"

-

-

By lunchtime the energy that had dissipated from the terror of being stranded on a moving staircase had vanished and the children were very, very antsy. Draco was constantly moving on the bench and spoke with a restless agitation that made his current state of mind all too clear. He jiggled his juice around in its cup, sloshing the liquid precariously close to the edge of its rim.

"Draco, you're going to spill your juice." She said calmly, biting a ham sandwich and watching him from the corner of her eye.

"Sorry." Was all he said, but he discontinued his movement for a short while.

"Your classes are so long." Ron said with a woeful look at the ceiling, as though it would save him from the horror of study. "Can't we play a game?"

"There's only a few more left." Morag said in what he hoped was a comforting voice. Ron darted a quick frown at him and then turned back to Hermione.

"We'll be done before you know it." She assured him as best as she could, "And after we're done we can play a game."

"What game?" Draco asked with a suspicious edge to his voice, as though she would trick him and come up with a game called Who Can Do Your Homework Fastest? That thought made her wonder if maybe she shouldn't try that game with her own children, when they were older. _She'd _thought it was a fairly good idea.

"Whatever game you want," she said brightly and then instantly regretted it when a satisfied smirk appeared on his face. "As long as it doesn't cause too much chaos."

"OK." Was all he said in a sing song voice, grinning at Ron and happily taking another drink. "Don't worry, Hermione."

Harry gave her a look that clearly said worry a lot and Morag just groaned into his drink, which showed how enthusiastic he was for playing a game. She merely shrugged. They still had loads of time until they were obligated to play, and it couldn't be _that_ bad.

-

-

As it turned out, all he had in mind was a simple game of tag. Or at least, that was what her initial reaction was, until Draco began to detail that he wanted to be able to play in the hallways. She'd immediately denied the request and, after much screaming, consented to allowing them part of the hall outside their dormitory, however they had to be in constant eyesight of one of their guardians at _all times_.

Tag with children, she soon learned, was a lot more complex than tag with people your own age. For one thing they screamed. A lot. Sometimes in exhilaration, sometimes in fear and often with laughter. And for another they were quite fast and agile and ran around you whilst you could only _try_ and catch them. Their energy level never depleted.

Ever.

"I'm going to catch you!" Hermione called out, running after Ron, who was squealing. The high pitched noises he kept releasing did nothing to help her headache, which had hit her full force several minutes ago. Still, though, the expression on his face was enough to make her continue the game. Or at least until the pain doubled to the extent that she couldn't keep running and she gasped out loud, clutching her head.

Her eyes unconsciously took in her surrounds, showing her that both Harry and Morag seemed to be in similar situations, before a blinding white light filled her vision and she could no longer see. Immediately she understood the words of her classmates three days before. The light didn't hurt and, other than the headache, she wasn't in any pain. It just made her want to curl up and to make it stop, _now. _There was something unbearable in its force that she couldn't explain.

"Hermione? Hermione what's wrong?" She could hear Draco's voice, though it sounded slightly far away, and she tried to consol him, her eyes shutting tightly. All her senses were overrode with the light, until all she could feel and smell was the blinding of the white and she was gasping as she sank to the floor.

"It's nothing, Draco." She said, breathing deeply. "I just – I'm OK."

"What's going on? Help! Help!" Ron cried out, farther away from her than Draco, and she felt a set of hands on her forehead, before the world began to spin in a series of bright white lights, sending her thoughts tumbling together and taking her consciousness with it.

-

-

Draco had never felt as disoriented in his life as he did then.

One moment he was feeling a strange, occupied happiness and then pure, simple fear, and the next he found himself sitting on the ground with no recollection of ever getting there. Suddenly, in one mass his memories of the past three days came rushing back. Thoughts that were too complicated for a five year old child swirled around his mind in a way that made it difficult to even distinguish each separate idea.

"Why are you sitting on the floor?"

He closed his eyes. And was promptly poked just under his left eye, which wasn't very encouraging in terms of opening them, though he did so anyway. He had a feeling the girl in front of him wouldn't willingly harm him.

"How come you're sitting on the floor?" Hermione, as a young girl, was possibly one of the cutest children he'd ever seen, even looking back on the previous few days. Her eyes were extremely big, round and a dark shade of brown. It might have been comical, had the bushiness of her lighter brown hair not evened out the largeness of her eyes. She stared at him with obvious interest, her lips pursed.

"I, er, was just taking a rest." Draco said lamely, making no move to leave his current position. His eyes surveyed the surrounding area and he saw that Blaise seemed to be hitting it off quite well with Harry, who was already smiling in admiration and laughing, and that Morag was crying while Ron frantically tried to make him stop. _Typical._

"Where am I?" She stared furiously at him, her eyes never leaving his own. There didn't seem to be any sort of fear in her eye, but knew that that could quickly change.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He replied, inside cursing explicitly. He now had the job of explaining to her the existence of magic. Whoever's idea it was to turn them all into bloody children was _stupid_.

She frowned at him, her eyes squinting. "That's not a real school."

"Yeah, it is." Was his reply, "It's real. You're standing in it."

Hermione then appeared to take in her surroundings, her eyes flying across the walls, landing and then going back to certain portraits and the two children around her. "Did you steal me? _Did you kidnap me from my parents?"_

_Oh fuck. _Her eyes were starting to water. He couldn't deal with crying girls. The last time it had been alright, since she'd pretty much just hung onto him and he didn't have to do anything, which suited him fine. But now…_Shit._ "No! Your parents let me look after you for a couple days!"

"How come I don't remember?" Her lips wobbled and desperately he rolled onto his knees.

"You were really tired." He said wildly, trying to come up with a plausible story. "You were sort of half asleep when they brought you here."

"You're a liar. It's not real." Her breath came in sharp gasps and her face was screwed up, "What do you want?"

_How can I get her to believe me? _He wondered, staring into her face. _Think. If I were to convince Granger of something's existence I would need…proof! _He fumbled around his robe pockets – which were thankfully back to their normal size, as he wasn't sure he would be able to handle the humiliation if they weren't – and realized he hadn't touched his wand in three days. Hermione must have taken it. "Well, I can show you…" He leaned to the side and she followed his progress with a disconcerted expression, and then he grabbed the two wands he saw on the floor slightly behind her. "With this!" He held up his wand triumphantly, carefully using her distraction to hide her own away.

"A stick?" She stared doubtfully at it.

"A _wand_." He felt, ridiculously, quite offended by that and pulled his wand closer, before murmuring a spell under his breath. Red and gold sparks flew from his wand, which were supposed to impress her.

She looked nonplussed, however she seemed to have calmed down. "_That's_ all you have? If magic is real, can't you do something better? Any old toy could do_ that_."

"Like what?" He asked desperately. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, Blaise holding up his own wand and explaining something while Harry listened attentively. Morag had stopped crying and was attempting to bite Ron's arm, who tried to dodge out of the way. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a crumbled wad of paper. "Watch this!"

She looked, unimpressed, and he waved his wand. The paper, resting on the floor, transfigured into a toad, which proceeded to hop agitatedly around. Draco barely refrained from hiding his delight at managing the spell – which he'd been taught as a child, no less! – when he noticed the awed expression on her face.

"Magic is real?" She breathed, her entire face glowing with excitement. "Do mum and dad know?"

"Yeah." He seized the subject with relief and waved his wand to make the robes pooled around her shrink. "That's why you're here. I've been assigned to look after you for a couple of days and show you around the school. Your parents agreed to it."

"Why are you showing me around the school?"

"Bloody hell!" Ron suddenly cried out and Draco glanced over, noticing that Morag had finally found his mark, if the way the Gryffindor cradled his hand was any indication.

He then turned back to her, as he doubted she would appreciate it if he burst into amused laughter. "When you turn 11, or, er," he did some quick math in his head, using his recently acquired knowledge of her birthday, "12, you'll be attending school here."

"Why?" Had anyone else walked into the scene, they never would have guessed that Hermione had just been crying. In fact, she looked as though someone had told her everyday was Christmas.

"The magic," he said, grinning, "is inside you. Everyone who comes here learns how to use it."

"So I'll be able to do magic?" Her face was shining with glee and her eyes glowed with marvel.

"Yes." Draco couldn't help but smile brightly back, affection already growing in his chest. He didn't know if it was because she was Hermione, or because he just liked young children. He didn't exactly have a lot of exposure to them, so it could have been either reason. "I'm Draco Malfoy."

"Hermione Granger!" She held out her hand, which he readily shook, and the two got to their feet. "I'm _so _pleased to make your acquaintance!"

Resisting the urge to laugh at her formality, which was contradicted by the way she beamed at him and wrung her hands excitedly, he locked eyes with Blaise. His friend jerked his head in a beckoning way, so he held his hand out to his charge. "Do you want to meet one of my friends?"

"Oh, yes!" She lifted her own hand and linked it with his. He then led her around Ron, who had immobilized Morag and was talking cautiously to him - probably not a good thing to interrupt - and to Blaise and Harry.

"Hermione, this is Blaise." He introduced the two and Blaise smiled warmly at her.

"It's a pleasure!" She chirped, turning pointedly to Harry with a face full of expectation.

"Harry, this is Hermione and my friend Draco." Blaise said to the raven-haired boy in front of him, who smiled shyly. They waited, expecting an immediate camaraderie between the two, however the silence wasn't filled. Hermione stared happily at Harry, who avoided looking at her directly in the face in favor of the ground, and so the moment passed.

"We should go help Ron." The other Slytherin said suddenly, and then Draco looked over in the Weasley's direction. There was something strange going on. When he'd observed Ron's situation earlier, he'd only felt slight sympathy and amusement. None of the malice he was accustomed to feeling. It was true they'd been friends the past three days, but was that really enough to alter his feelings completely?

"Yeah. Listen," Draco leaned in nearer as his charge edged closer to Harry and began chattering enthusiastically about magic and wondered aloud whether she could read up on it at home. "How do you feel about Ron right now?"

Blaise grimaced, "Residual feelings of friendship."

"So it's not just me, then." He'd suspected the answer because of the remark he'd heard moments before about assisting the subject of their current conversation. "Strange."

"It's probably because as children we didn't have any of the dislike, and there were no barriers before us. Now, whatever barriers _were_ there have been knocked down because, though neither of us expected it, Ron isn't a hard person to like." Blaise said reasonably, and then frowned. "I can't stop calling him by his first name. It's like an instinct now."

"Me too. I feel really compelled to help him out." They watched Ron, who remained oblivious to his observers.

"-do you think they give pre-Hogwarts classes? Obviously not magical, if they have to wait until you're 11, but maybe on theory or something? I really want to take one! Just _imagine _all the knowledge you would pick up from it! It would be so fun!" Hermione babbled on, looking imploringly at her companion. "Don't you think?"

It was that moment that Morag, who'd been released from the spell, darted away from his caretaker and ran over in their direction. "You have to help me! He's trying to hurt me!" The small boy neglected to notice the fact that Ron's story, if he'd gotten around to explaining it, was true and the presence of the other two children were proof enough of that.

"No, he's not." Draco said in slight exasperation. No matter what age Morag was, he was equally annoying. "He's here to look after you for the next couple of days and show you around the school."

"Then why was he yelling at me?" Demanded Morag, frowning at them and shuffling right as Ron approached.

"Probably because you were biting him." Blaise said slowly, "Which you shouldn't do. It's rude."

Ron came to stand beside him, his brow furrowed, and rubbed the red mark on his hand. Morag looked up at him and sighed. "I'msorryIbityou."

"That's OK." Replied the redhead with a forced smile. "It doesn't hurt that much anyways."

"Harry, this is Ron." Blaise performed the first introduction, gesturing to the Weasley.

"Hi," Harry said quietly, not noticing the strange expression crossing Ron's face. The older boy stared at his younger best friends and grinned widely.

"Hello Ron." Hermione said eagerly, "Do you know any good spells you can show me?"

"This is Hermione," Draco introduced, noticing immediately that when Ron glanced quickly at him, there was no detestation in the look.

"It's getting a bit late." Answered the Gryffindor, "Morag here should be getting ready for bed. Maybe tomorrow."

"OK." She answered cheerfully, skipping the few feet distance to Draco's side. "What time is it?"

"It is…" He peered over to take a look at Ron's watch, "9:00."

"Oh. That's past my bedtime." Hermione said, reaching out to take his hand.

"Then we'd best be going, shouldn't we?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows, and she responded with a giggle. "See you in the morning, Ro-Weasley." He was so preoccupied with his new formed habit of referring to him on a first term basis he almost forgot about the little boy hanging onto his side. "And Morag."

"Bye Ron! Bye Morag! Bye Blaise! Bye Harry!" She waved cheerfully to them all as the pair set out.

"Actually, Harry and Blaise share the dormitory with us." He said, "So they'll be along shortly, I expect."

"Oh, excellent!" She gushed excitedly, "Do you think Harry and I will be friends? I'd love to come to school knowing someone! He's so shy, though. Are there other children here too?"

"Yeah, loads." He had a sudden image of Hermione chasing a large group of children towards the staircase and laughed out loud. "Oh," he noticed the look he was getting, "I was just remembering something."

"Hm." She replied, swinging their joined hands back and forth.

"Two halves equal one whole." He said, and added, "It's the password." When they got inside the Common Room, Hermione looked around, her mouth widened in amazement and delight. "Do you like it?"

"Yes! You really _live_ here?" She asked, her eyes flicking around the room like tadpoles in a small pool.

"Only to look after you." He answered, leading her to the stairs outside her room. "Because some of us are looking after children of the opposite gender and the age difference they didn't think it was appropriate to have us live in the normal style of common dormitories."

She jumped up a bit to turn the doorknob and then he pushed the door open. She stared. "It's so…_pink_."

"I know." He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "The girl who decorated your room went a bit crazy." Thinking of Pansy made his stomach clench, but less painfully than it had before. He felt a bit like the wound of her death was healing, stitch by stitch, until it would be closed again. "It's time for you to get to bed. So, er, get your pajamas out! They should be in one of those drawers…"

Looking at her chest of drawers was slightly foreboding, but Hermione assured him that he didn't have to help her look and set about sorting through the drawers. While she was occupied he looked around the room, ignoring the niggling feeling he felt about looking around at her things while she wasn't, technically, there.

The lamps cast a small glow on the items piled haphazardly onto her bedside table – three books with bookmarks halfway through them, pencils, a few gum wrappers, a lip balm and a pot of something. Glancing over to make sure Hermione didn't notice he reached out, unscrewed the lid on the pot and sniffed it.

The small inhalation sent memories flying through him from times when Hermione breezed past him and the exact same strawberry smell lingered in the air, or when she leaned over him or moved suddenly when they were in close proximity. Unconsciously he smelled it again and then quickly slammed the lid back on, hurriedly dropping it back down on the table and scattering a few quills at the same time. How strange would it be if Hermione knew he'd purposefully smelled something because it smelled like her?

Glancing swiftly over to her infant counterpart, who was riffling around the bottom drawer, and stepped away from the table, taking in the rest of her room. The pink coloring was truly ill-fitting, however he suspected she had a fondness for it now. She was likely to develop sentimental feelings for things, even those she disliked. The door to her wardrobe was slightly open and he could see her uniform hanging in neat rows of black.

"Found them!" Hermione called out happily, pulling out a pair of pants and long sleeved shirt. He stepped outside the room so she could change, and then she brushed her teeth downstairs in the washroom while he waited for her, his mind still struggling to acknowledge all that had happened to him. He tried to stave of its demanding presence by looking through her bookshelf. She'd read him a few children's stories when he'd been young, so she would have to have had them with her to do so.

When she returned, she curled herself up into a pile of blankets and listened attentively to his reading, her eyes enthralled by the pictures in the books he'd found. To his surprise, he found himself quite enjoying narrating the book and didn't feel any inclination to stop reading until Hermione's head had dropped to his shoulder and she was asleep. Even then it had taken him a minute or so to realize what had happened.

Carefully he moved away from her, tucked her in properly so she didn't wake up with a crick in her neck and put back the countless books he'd drawn out back on her shelf. For a moment he wondered why she even had them with her, but guessed that it probably had something to do with sentimentality. With one more glance back at her sleeping form he left the room, smiling to himself. Blaise was laying on his back in the Common Room, staring at the ceiling with his eyes blank and open. He looked over when Draco shut the door carefully, and smiled briefly. "Is she asleep?"

"Yeah." He replied, dropping into the couch even though he should have been doing revision, or showering, or something of the sort. Instead he sat down and looked at his best friend, trying to come up with a way to say what was on his mind.

"Harry was great. He listens to everything I say. When I told him about magic, it was like his entire life was being given meaning again." Blaise said fondly, looking back at the ceiling as he spoke. "He loves it."

"Hermione, too." He replied, a smile forming on his lips. "I'd always known it existed, for my whole life. But she didn't, so it's interesting to see that learning about it makes her so happy." Draco paused for a moment, discovering that Harry's seeming fixation with fire seemed to have a real reason behind it – the flames were captivating. "Did you ever imagine that this is where you would end up?"

"What do you mean?" His friend furrowed his brow questioningly.

"Years ago, when you thought about who you would be, did you ever imagine you be who you are now? That your life would be like this?" He frowned a bit, because that really didn't come out the way he'd expected it to.

"No." A snort accompanied the word, "I'd sort of imagined being in love with a girl."

"Do you love him?" Draco asked, glancing swiftly over. How had he not noticed that Blaise had fallen in love with someone? _Have I really been that…absent?_

"I – maybe." He bit his lip, crossing his arms over his chest uncomfortably. His forehead was crumpled and he looked away from Draco, playing with one of his fingers. "I don't know. How do you know if it is?"

"I don't know." He shrugged in response, "How could I?"

"How do you feel about Hermione?" Blaise asked, his voice careful and cautious.

"I-" He broke off, shaking his head discontentedly and feeling the sudden, impressive urge to end the conversation. "I have to go. Homework, and all that."

"Yeah. Right." Was the small response he got, and Draco felt a flash of regret that he couldn't explain, before he went into the bathroom and had a shower. With the hot water spraying down on him and soaking him in heat it was easier to try and keep his thoughts at bay. There were a lot of things that he needed to think about, but they were all subjects he would over analyze and contemplate until his death, so for now he was concentrating solely on scrubbing shampoo into his scalp.

-

-

Later than night, after some tedious revision, Draco lay back on his bed and pulled the blankets tighter around his body. His eyes fluttered closed and he was on the verge of achieving sleep when Hermione's voice interrupted his pleasant state of mind and managed to put him on a level of tension that he had never reached before.

'"_Draco, have you ever hurt someone you loved?"' _

He sat up suddenly, crossing his legs and restlessly moved his blankets around. Just because she'd phrased the question that way didn't mean anything. _Obviousl_y using the word love would make it more understandable to a child. That was simple. But the presence of such an emotion, passing before her lips, was enough to make his heart beat uncomfortably fast and a nervousness, of a sort, to pool in his stomach.

Even though he knew that she'd been playing him, this whole time, there was still something that compelled him to talk to her, to see her, to _be_ with her. Despite the fact that he felt swirls of pain and foolishness in the pit of his stomach when he thought of how she'd been being nice to him with a motive, there was some hope in him that something had changed. That maybe if he talked to her, she would deny it, and say that it wasn't real – she hadn't been getting close to him as some stupid mission for the Order.

He'd never expected the affect she would have this effect on his life. When they'd been partnered up for the Potions assignment, he'd felt only anger and annoyance at such an unconventional and unwanted pairing. But now, thinking about moving back to the Slytherin dormitories in a few days and no longer being with her always made him feel desperate for time to slow down. That, and the fact that he didn't think he would be happy if he didn't talk to her before the assignment ended. Even if it was only to tell her he never wanted to talk to her again, after she explained the situation.

Laying back he closed his eyes with a sigh. For the umpteenth time he cursed whoever had thought it was a good idea to make them turn into _children_. It had completely interrupted the flow of everything and stopped whatever progress anyone had developed. Every single thing he'd intended to do was now put on hold in favour of chasing a little girl around the school, albeit a cute one.

_She said she cares about me._ Draco couldn't stop the thought from surfacing and he wrinkled his nose, trying to convince himself that it didn't matter.

But it did.

-

-

"_Draco_!" Hermione's voice woke him the next day and he stared, disgruntled, at the door. Blearily shaking his head he glanced at his clock, and then nearly jumped off his bed. _7:16? I'm late! I'm late! _He dashed to the door and opened it up, before running to his closet and pulling out his uniform. Hermione skipped inside and sat on his bed, watching him compile the things he needed to take into the bathroom so he could get ready.

"Why are you running?" She asked from her perch, her brown hair clearly brushed, if its absurd puffiness was anything to go by.

"I'm late." He said, snatching up his hairbrush and adding it to the pile in his arms. "I'm going to be in the bathroom, so make sure you're ready for breakfast!"

"Okay." Draco thanked Merlin for her obvious independence and scrambled through getting dressed. When he emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, Blaise and Harry had joined Hermione in the Common Room and they were all waiting. "One second!"

After forcefully pulling his shoes on he hurried back inside and, with a relieved sigh, they began to leave. "Wait!" Hermione stopped suddenly, just outside the door. "I haven't brushed my teeth!"

"Just skip it this morning," he told her. The look of horror she gave him in response made him seriously rethink the suggestion.

"Dental care is an extremely important part of the human hygienic system!" She exclaimed, clearly scandalized. "There is _so_ much bacteria in mouths! Did you know that there is more bacteria in your mouth _alone_, right now, than there have ever been human beings living on the _plan_et? Ever! Skipping _one _brushi-"

"Okay, okay!" Draco snatched her hand and led her back into their dormitory, waving Blaise and Harry onwards to breakfast. "Here, you can brush your teeth! Just try to do it fast!"

"My dad told me it should always take two minutes to get a thorough clean." She informed him, reaching for the toothpaste. Her height impeded her reaching, so he grabbed it off the counter and held it out to her. Tediously slowly she squeezed some onto her toothbrush and began to brush her teeth.

Draco began to pace in circles behind her, beyond tense. Being late was bad enough – he did _not_ want to miss breakfast, too! "You shouldn't pace." She paused in her brushing to inform him. "It actually heightens your stress."

"Okay," he gave her a strained smile and leaned back on the wall with one hand, "I'll stop. How are we for time?"

"I forget." She paused to think about it for a minute and her expression cleared. "I'll just start again from the beginning!"

He bit his lip, hard, to keep from saying anything and took a few deep breaths. If nothing else, they would be an interesting, though likely highly stressful, few days.

-

**Author's Note: Draco's last day as a child was supposed to be shorter than it was, and then the part where Hermione becomes a child became really long, and therefore the next few days have been pushed forward yet again into the next chapter. **

**I am back at school (grade 11, yikes!) and therefore, courtesy of my biology teacher, the whole 'bacteria in the mouth' fact is true. Yeah, so brush your teeth! I don't know if I have anything else important to mention…**

**I realized about two seconds that I have been very neglectful of my anonymous reviewers, and am now taking the time to reply to their reviews from chapters 32 and 31. If you're not an anonymous reviewer, feel free to skip over!**

**32**

_xavvi_ – Glad you liked the chapter! It was pretty fun to write! I think I sort of got a little too carried away with everything that was Pansy's death, so it was nice to write something a bit more happy, you know?

_Rebecca_ – Thanks a lot! :) I've pretty much said this to every single reviewer from last chapter, but it was pretty rejuvenating to write that. It sort of brought another perspective into the story. Like it helped bring it back on track, since Pansy's death made everything reel a bit.

_:]_ – Thanks! It makes me happy that you like the story so far. Oh, and also with Blaise, as well.

**31**

_Aradia Ignis _– Thanks!! :) Seriously, reviews like that never fail to make me grin! Hopefully this last chapter was to your taste as well.

**Review review review!**

**Oh, and also smile! :)**


	34. When You're Gone

**Author's Note: This is my first chapter of 2010. :) If all goes according to plan, this story will end in one or two chapters. I'm sure that you can guess what's going to happen in this chapter from the song lyrics. **

**Again, I apologize whole heartedly that this chapter took so long. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**-**

_**I've never felt this way before**_

_**Everything that I do reminds me of you...**_

_**When you walk away I count the steps that you take**_

_**Do you see how much I need you right now?**_

_** - When You're Gone, Avril Lavigne**_

_**-**_

Draco was highly disconcerted to find that Hermione was an equally outstanding student even when she was a child. She sat with the same straight-as-a-brick-wall posture and avid shine in her eyes as their Professors spoke that he was used to seeing on a more mature face. When they were practicing their practical spell casting, she stood or sat passively by Draco's side and mirrored his sharp movements with a quill. When Draco effortlessly cast some of the spells they were going through, she stared wistfully at the swirls of his wand.

Draco understood her feelings immediately, as he had grown up watching his parents do magic with ease and been insanely jealous of the power that they held in their hands. Clearly her interest in education had developed significantly early, and he was intensely amused to see some of the habits she had now in full effect.

Blaise nudged him for what was probably the billionth time that day and he drew his attention away from the worksheet full of questions before him. Looking over with an eyebrow raised, his friend nodded in the direction of Harry, who sat silently and stared around the classroom as though it were an illusion he expected to disappear.

"What's with him?" Draco muttered under his breath, hastily scribbling down an answer to the question he'd been working on when McGonagall looked up with pursed lips. Now that they were in exam review period she demanded complete silence.

"I don't know," breathed Blaise the moment her attention was diverted, "But I sort of thought he would've been a really happy kid. So far all he's done is just…look sort of solemn."

The blond looked around at all the other children, who were happily colouring, waving around pieces of paper like wands and talking in quiet and loud intervals, depending on which way McGonagall looked. When he was younger and vindictive and feeling sorry for himself, he'd always cursed Harry and what a perfect childhood he'd had, with doting guardians and everything he wanted. But the small boy in front of him, oddly faint and unsocial was not the picture of someone who was an inquisitive little boy.

"Some children are shy, though." He murmured softly, "Maybe he just never developed curiosity until later. Merlin knows he had enough by first year."

Blaise let out a small laugh, but the smile faded from his face when he and Draco were given extra questions to be handed in and marked the next day for talking. Sighing, he turned back to his page, three quarters of which was covered in elegant cursive writing.

_All this review is rubbish. _He looked moodily at his page and added a few lines to his answer before moving on to the next question. Watching Hermione happily draw and write on the parchment beside him made him long to be that young again. _Merlin, this is what revision makes me do. _He smiled wryly, _I'm not even that old._

"Draco," Hermione whispered suddenly, nearly startling him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He replied quietly, turning hastily back to his questions. She watched him with narrowed eyes for a minute or so and then reached out, picked up the crayons he'd conjured for her and plopped them down on his desk. Ignoring the look McGonagall shot her with a determined expression she took some parchment, placed it before him and then stuffed a red crayon in his hand.

"There," she said softly as his professor looked away, "Draw something."

"No." Draco snorted and dropped the colouring utensils on his desk.

"Why?" She frowned at him, as though he was a puzzle she was almost finished but couldn't find a piece for.

"I'm sixteen." He protested, shaking his head. It could have been the light flashing off his hair attracting attention, or just eavesdropping, but he could feel eyes on him. Specifically from their teacher. "That's just…undignified."

Hermione merely watched him with the sort of expression on her face that made him feel like he'd said something terribly incorrect. "Everyone can colour." She finally said, tapping her little fingers on the desk. "Just let your creativity flow! That's what mommy tells me."

"She sounds like a nice woman." He replied, reading the next question on his sheet. "But I am sixteen, and you are five."

"Is age _that _important to you?" She sat up on her chair and leaned over, staring him in the eye. "I mean, only eleven years?"

"Er, that's quite a lot." Draco said, exchanging an amused smile with Blaise.

"Would you ever marry someone eleven years younger than you?" Hermione asked him, and he might have laughed if she didn't look so serious.

"I don't think so." He shook his head, "I would feel really old."

"Hm." She said, nonplussed. "I see. Well, if_ that's_ how you feel about it."

She turned and sat down in a huff, crossing her arms over her chest and thrusting out her lower lip. Draco sighed and set down his quill. Reaching over, he picked up the red crayon and held it to the paper. "What shall I draw?"

Hermione turned and beamed radiantly at him, and while he couldn't help but smile happily back, he was struck by a longing for _his_ Hermione. "How about a lion?"

"A lion?" He shook his head in a mockingly morose way. "I don't know if I can draw a lion."

"Yes, you can!" Her previous upset was forgotten and she leaned over his paper. "I'll help you."

"Alright." He set about drawing his best picture of a lion, which ended up looking like a cow with a big mane. Blaise burst out laughing when he saw it and Hermione giggled, whilst trying to add consolations for his lack of talent. "Hey, Harry," Draco caught the attention of the little boy, who'd looked over and then away, smiling slightly. "Do you think you can draw a better one?"

"I don't know."

"Here, try." He handed him a crayon and a piece of parchment and smiled as much as he could. Harry reached out and took it, his face breaking into a smile. Draco stared at him, innocent and without worry, and decided it might not be too hard to be nice to Harry when he was back to normal. If his big fat head downsized a bit, of course.

"Like this?" Harry asked, beginning to draw.

"Yeah, good job." Blaise encouraged, "You're already way better than Draco."

"It's true," He said with a grin, "You're good at drawing."

Harry flushed with pride.

As a teacher, Professor McGonagall had witnessed many things in her classroom. Not many, she found, were as touching as the moment she had just seen.

-

-

"This is my sister, Ginny." Ron looked amusedly between Hermione, Harry and Ginny. Hermione looked quite pleased to be meeting another girl, for a change, while Harry looked very, very shy. "This is Hermione and Harry."

"Hi," Hermione reached out and shook her hand. "It's a pleasure."

"Yeah," Ginny beamed at her and turned to Harry, "Hi, Harry."

"Hi." He smiled at her and flushed.

"Can you come over?" Hermione asked, glancing for half a second in Draco's direction to make sure he didn't look furious at her sudden invitation. "To my room?"

"Right now? I have classes." The Weasley replied regretfully, also looking in the Malfoy's direction.

"After dinner, then. Can you? Can she, Draco?" His charge turned towards him, pleading silently with her eyes, and he consented with forced pleasantness.

"Sure."

"Yay! See you after dinner!" Hermione took Draco's hand and skipped out of the Great Hall, jerking on his arm with every jilted skip she took. He couldn't grasp the emotional range children had. One minute they were sad and the next cheerful.

Hermione found many different ways of telling Draco how excited she was about Ginny's visit, including screaming out "I'm so excited" in the middle of his Defense Against the Dark Arts practice exam, bouncing up and down in her seat beside him during Charms and singing "Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny" under her breath for the entire Potions class.

By the time dinner rolled around her hair seemed to have expanded a few inches around her head, taking up the psychical space her jubilation could not. "Are you excited, Draco?" She asked him as they sat down at their table.

"Yeah."

"Really? How come?" She turned to him with her strange, over large eyes.

"Because, er, because you're excited." He answered in response. "And if you're happy, I'm happy."

"That's nice. If _you're_ happy, I'm happy." Her eyes flickered over the food he was dishing out to her and she smiled sweetly. "You know, Draco, it's too bad I'm so much younger than you. Otherwise I think we'd be really great friends."

"Yeah. Definitely." She turned and began to eat her food, with a brief noise of disgust as Morag began to throw his peas at Ron's head. She was very disapproving of the children who weren't nice to their partners.

"That's not nice." They all looked in surprise at Harry, who was staring at Morag. The latter boy froze comically in the midst of aiming another pea, his mouth open in an evil smile. "You shouldn't be so mean to him. He's the one whose taking care of you, and at least he's being nice to you."

They were all pretty surprised by his speaking, especially in a confrontation, of sorts, but Ron smiled at the young boy. "Thanks Harry. You've got my back. But don't worry," he winked, "I've got yours, too."

Harry smiled with happiness and turned to his guardian, "And so does Blaise. We've all got each other's backs."

Blaise and Ron looked at each other, connected by their mutual friendship with Harry. "That's right." Ron said after a brief pause, "We've all got each other's backs."

"Are you friends?" Hermione asked suddenly, looking around at the three of them, and Draco turned to her, wondering if she had felt the same awkward amusement he was feeling when he had asked question that weren't entirely appropriate for their situations.

"Well," Draco began, "Sometimes circumstances make it hard for people to be friends."

"Circumstances shouldn't matter." Hermione said, shaking her head with a sigh, as if to say _boys_. "All that should matter is what's inside. That's what my daddy says. You should be friends now."

"Er, right." Draco glanced over at Ron, who looked significantly embarrassed. Morag was focusing completely on stuffing as much chicken into his mouth as he could, and even if he'd tried to speak wouldn't have been able, while Harry looked pleased by the suggestion. "Well, we'll try from now on, won't we, Weasley?"

"Weasley?" Hermione sighed again, adopting a patient expression. "Use his real name. _Honestly_."

At that Draco could barely refrain from laughing, as she sounded so much like her actual self. "OK, er, we'll try from now on, right," he almost cringed, "Ron?"

"Sure," the red-head said, his voice equally stilted. "Draco."

"Now you," Hermione turned to Blaise, who looked a bit shocked at being addressed.

"Right. We'll try to get along, Ron." He didn't have as much of a problem as the other two had.

"Good." She turned back to her food, clearly satisfied, and Gavin joined their table a minute or so later, therefore destroying any residual awkwardness from the conversation. "You know who's coming over later?"

"Who?" Morag asked, having finally swallowed his food.

"Ginny." She smiled brightly. "Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny…"

_Oh dear. _Draco attempted to tune her out and failed. _I am _never_ having children._

"Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny…" She began punctuating every word with a toss of her head to either side and a stab to her kidney pie.

_Ever._

-

-

Draco had never thought he would be truly thankful for a Weasley, but a few hours later, when Hermione was tucked away and sleeping and he'd finished all his homework and caught up on everything he'd needed to do for their Potions assignment he was intensely grateful that Ginny had come over. She'd engaged both Harry and Hermione in a series of games and completely taken them out of Blaise and Draco's hands, giving him almost endless amount of time. Then, after Hermione had gone to bed, she'd read Harry stories on the couch beside Draco until the young boy had fallen asleep, too.

"You're good with children." He observed as she stroked Harry's hair, carefully folding up the book.

"I guess. I have a big family." Ginny shrugged and turned to look at him intently, her red hair sending light flashing off it. There was a seriousness about the moment that he couldn't ignore and he paused, turning to stare evenly back at her. They were both silent for what felt like hours. "Your dad slipped a diary with Dark Magic into my cauldron."

Draco had the feeling that was the least of what she wanted to say, but she didn't go on. He met her gaze and, for the first time, suspected he might have an idea of why so many people found her attractive. The blazing determination that radiated off her was quite enticing. "I'm not my father."

She didn't speak for awhile. "I know. Which is why I'm not interfering between you and Hermione."

He flushed and shrugged, occupying himself with turning the pages of his textbook. They had now left the topic of conversation he felt himself obligated to participate in.

"Because that would be wrong. He's old." A strange tone had crept into her voice and he looked up in shock to see a grin on her face. _A Weasley just made a joke with me. _He smiled hesitantly back at her. If he wanted to be friends with Hermione, he would have to be nice to her friends. That was a pretty significant _if_, though. "I'm warning you. If you do anything to hurt her, I _will _come after you."

He nodded, deciding a sarcastic remark would not go over very well with her at the current time. "I don't have any intentions of hurting her. If I did," he added, "I would've done it already."

"I'm not talking about you just going after her because you hate her." Ginny shook her head, her tone mildly awkward but mostly amused. It was clear she thought she had the upper hand. "If I thought there was even a chance you still hate her, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I mean hurting her emotionally. I'm not stupid. I've seen you two."

"So?" He felt very warm and turned away from her, as he didn't really want to discuss any emotions he felt for Hermione with Ginny Weasley. Especially because he'd heard stories about her Bat-Bogey hexes, and he didn't particularly want to experience its effects first hand.

"I have to go." She stood up slowly, careful not to jolt Harry, and gathered him in her arms, grunting slightly from his weight. "I thought children were supposed to be light?"

He merely shrugged, glad she hadn't pursued the subject. She was most definitely the most bearable of the Weasleys. She laid Harry down in his room and tucked him in, before closing the door and heading towards the exit. "Just think for a bit, Malfoy." She paused before she left. "People don't often get to find what you and Hermione have. Don't lose it."

"I-" Ginny smiled a bit over her shoulder and left before he could properly respond.

_Right. _He leaned back and closed his eyes. _Why do they always do that?_

-

-

"Hey, Draco?" Hermione tugged on his sleeve and he abandoned his chunky black mug in favour of looking over to her. They were sitting in Transfiguration, which seemed to be Hermione's favourite class, if her enthusiasm in it was anything to go by. Blaise sat next to him and was watching Ron try to coax a conversation out of Harry, his face turning red with concentration.

"Yeah?"

"What's an Animagnus?"

"An Animagus," He corrected, "is someone who can change from a person into an animal."

"Really?" She breathed, her already too-large eyes widening dramatically. "She can do that?" Her small finger pointed to Professor McGonagall, who was helping Terry Boot transfigure his mug into a cat.

"Yeah. It's quite an intense bit of magic."

"Is it hard?" Her gaze swiveled between the teacher and Draco. "Could _I_ do it?"

"You can do anything you want." He replied with a smile. "I bet that by the time you're my age, you'll be the brightest witch of our generation, and that anything you want to do you can do. You should wait, though." He added, as he wouldn't put it passed her to ask him right then and there to teach her how. "Becoming an Animagus is a long and hard process."

"Would you help me?"

"Of course," Draco answered without hesitating and only paused after he'd spoken, wondering how Hermione would perceive their conversation when she was back to her usual self. The transformation was set to occur later that day, and he suspected it would probably be around the same time as his had happened. All they had done in his time without classes was explore the castle until she was satisfied that she knew every nook and cranny, which of course she didn't. "I would help you with anything."

"Cool!" She beamed at him and cheerily turned back to his mug. "Are you going to do some magic now?"

"Sure," he waved his wand, concentrating very hard on using the spell wordlessly, which he hadn't been having much trouble with. The mug trembled for a moment, before sprouting a tail in the place of the handle and growing black fur. Draco glared at the furry object before him while Hermione giggled.

"I think you're supposed to make the swirl more sharp," she said finally, "I think. That's what she was telling that boy."

"Mmm." He did what she'd suggested and wasn't altogether surprised when his spell was successful. "Thanks."

"Not a problem. It's really only because I was listening at the time," she said with a beam, "Mrs. McGonagall is so helpful! I hope I have her when I come to Hogwarts. Do you think I will? Or will I have a new teacher? Is there more than one for each subject?"

He paused with a mockingly exasperated sigh. "You'll have her as your teacher, and no, there isn't more than one per subject."

"Wow." Hermione turned to their teacher appreciatively. "She teaches a lot! I'll bet she gets tired! What if she has papers to mark?"

Draco had never thought of it that way before. If she taught Transfiguration for every year, and there were two classes per year, one for every two houses that amounted to fourteen different classes a year. _That's mind boggling! _He shook his head, once again reminded of the fact that Hermione always thought of other people first.

_I think about_ her_ first. _He remembered silently and shook his head, before nearly jumping out of his skin at a light touch on his shoulder. Whenever he thought about Hermione he always entertained the suspicion that people could hear his inner musings and so when he was reminded of the presence of others it was often quite jarring.

"Yeah?"

Wearing a troubled expression Blaise said, softly, "Harry just told me his family doesn't like him."

"What?" He briefly felt as though the ground had suddenly disappeared. "He said they-"

"Don't like him, yeah." The other male held his eyes and an unfamiliar emotion filled them. "He said they think he's a freak, and after they find out he's magic they'll probably want him to leave, because they hate it."

"Well, obviously they didn't make him leave." He said after a short pause. "I mean, he's still got his family. He goes home over the summer, right?"

"Yeah." They were both silent and turned to the younger boy, who was happily chatting away with Ron. _All you really need to do is be nice to him._ Draco thought to himself, watching his uninhibited happiness. _He would probably respond the same way._

"I always thought-" Draco broke off, unsure of how to continue.

"I know. Me, too."

Their unspoken words hung in the air.

_I always thought his life was perfect._

-

-

"Can Ginny come over again?" Hermione began pestering him the moment they sat down for dinner. "We had a lot of fun the other night. Can she?"

"She's got homework to do." Draco replied with a shake of his head, reaching in front of him for the pitcher of pumpkin juice. He hoped fervently that she wouldn't bring back the incessant 'Ginny' mutterings.

"So? She can do it later." He felt mildly shocked about her behavior regarding homework and probably would have laughed from the humor of it if her bottom lip hadn't been trembling. "Er…Shall I show you some magic?" He suggested, hoping it worked as well on her as it had on him.

"But I want Ginny to come over."

He looked around the table, wishing someone could save him. He really had no idea what to do with hysterical little girls wanting their older friends to come over. "Er…Well, maybe she can come over later. We all really need to study for exams."

"But what about me?" She crumpled her face, "What am I going to do? Is school more important?"

"Erm…Well, you could…"

"What's your favourite class Hermione?" Harry asked suddenly, "I like Defense, but I like Transfiguration too."

Hermione turned to him so quickly her neck cracked, but her eyes immediately filled with passionate interest and her previous distressed disappeared. "I don't know! I think they're all _really_ fascinating and I like them all, especially history, because it's all so new, and I don't know any of it! I can't believe all those people sleep…"

With a sigh of relief he lifted his fork and knife and began cutting his steak up, nodding across the table when Ron sat down. After his conversation with Ginny he'd decided it would probably due well to try and be nice to the Gryffindors, even if seeing the Weasley made him cringe.

"How much longer do you think we've got?" Ron surprised him by asking, after checking to make sure Morag had as much food as he wanted.

"Er, I'm not sure. Probably one or two hours." Draco guessed randomly, his voice slightly stiff.

"Right." The redhead nodded, regarding him seriously from beneath his eyelashes. "This is probably a good time to discuss this, so I think I will."

Draco mentally prepared himself for the 'stay away from our friend and out of our lives you evil dirty ferret' speech, and was slightly surprised when he didn't immediately receive it.

"If you mess around with Hermione, Harry and I will come after you." He said it simply and then took another bite of mashed potatoes. "Just to let you know."

"Is this some kind of jealous threat?" Draco asked with a frown, tensing. He knew it was no good to react to everything that Ron said, but he couldn't help it when the Gryffindor looked at him in that _infuriating _way, as if he was trying to flaunt the fact that he was good friends with Hermione and Draco wasn't.

"Jealous of what?"

"You tell me." He narrowed his eyes, wondering why the usual embarrassment at his suggestive feelings for Hermione wasn't making Ron turn red.

The redhead simply stared at him for another moment, before enlightenment dawned on his face. He flushed a bit, shaking his head, and snuck glances at Hermione, still talking to Harry. "Er, no, Malfoy. I don't think of her that way."

He raised an eyebrow imperiously, scrutinizing the other male. "Really?"

"Oh, shut up," was the response he got, "It's none of your business, anyway. Just because you and Hermione have gotten to some kind of agreement doesn't mean we're on good terms. So piss off."

He heard himself snap something back but wasn't quite sure what he said. His mind buzzed excitedly. _If Weasley is telling the truth and really doesn't fancy her, then I might possibly have a chance. _He'd never imagined Hermione and Ron together, because he was sure she needed someone less dimwitted, but there was always a niggling feeling in the back of his mind telling him if she had to choose, she would go with the Weasley.

If_ I tell her. _He reminded himself with the shake of his head. _Only if. _

-

-

Draco had thought that he was eagerly awaiting the return of Hermione to her normal self, but when dinner had ended he began to see the transformation a bit differently. They'd all moved back to their common rooms and he took her into the potions room to show her around. It was then that he'd realized that he would have to_ talk_ to her when the potion wore off.

"What's this?" She asked, reaching for a jar that contained dark green leaves with frosty blue veins.

"It's anomium." He opened the lid and held it to her nose, watching her grimace and move away with amusement. "It smells disgusting, but its used to stabilize a lot of potions that are undergoing really delicate stages of brewing."

"Oh. You're really good at potions." Hermione looked at him admiringly, before turning her attention back to the stocked shelves.

He smiled, "If you like something you usually practice it, and that makes you do better."

"I hope I can get as good at piano as you are at potions." She beamed, standing on the tips of her toes to get a closer look.

"Do you play?" He asked in surprise. He'd never thought Hermione had any sort of musical ability.

"I just started! But I can already play with both hands!"

"Good job." He reached for another bottle containing amortia. "This is the key ingredient in one of the most powerful love potions."

"What it smell like?" She stretched out her hand to take it but he deftly pulled it away.

"No," Shaking his head he placed it back on the shelf, far out of her reach. "Smelling it directly puts you in a drunkenly affectionate state and can sometimes cause loud proclamations of love."

"What's a proclamation?"

"It's like an announcement."

She giggled, "Have you ever done that?"

"Yeah. The first time I ever smelled it was at home when I was about your age. My father was having a dinner party with someone of his purebl-er, friends, so I was sent off to play with their children and we got into the potion stores. I spent the whole evening telling everyone I was madly in love with my friend Pansy." He laughed quietly, feeling familiar stabs of sadness hit him.

"Do you love her?"

"Yeah. She's one of my best friends." Giving her the best smile he could muster he tried to refocus and lifted another jar, "This is-"

"Is she nice? Can I meet her? Ew," she frowned discontentedly when she saw a jar of beetles.

"She goes to another school. Durmstrang." Draco said quickly before she could ask.

"There are more magic schools?" Her eyes were even more wide than before, the dimensions of which he had thought slightly unimaginable, and her expression held the level of astonishment only a child's could convey.

"Yeah. There are witches and wizards born everywhere, you know. They can't all go to Hogwarts." He took a few steps ahead of her to pull some of the riskier ingredients out of reach. The shelves that lined the entire wall were mostly out of reach, but there were a few ingredients that were potentially harmful to children that he didn't want to give her access to.

"I have a question," she announced and he stopped and looked at her, eyebrows raised. "How come, if both my parents are muggles, I have magic?"

"No one knows." Draco walked ahead of her again after a brief pause.

"Will I be able to do magic as well as you?" Concern was evident in her voice and he could resist smiling, though she couldn't see as he'd moved ahead of her again.

"Yeah. Birth…well, it doesn't really matter about the blood in your veins." He stopped, wondering when he had accepted that as a fact. No doubt it had something to do with Hermione, as all things seemed to now.

"So I can-"

The Slytherin turned quickly as her voice broke, worried she'd knocked something potentially harmful over. In a flash his wand was out, but instead he was confronted by her image blurring before his eyes, contorting and_ growing_. Aiming carefully he waved his wand, enlarging her robes to avoid any awkward situations. When he'd come to after his transformation Blaise had already changed his robes for him, which was lucky because the robes did not change shape with the bodies.

The next moment he was looking down at a seventeen year old Hermione. She didn't move from her position on the floor and neither did he. They simply stared at each other, until Draco feared they would remain that way for a long time and hurriedly said the first thing that he could think of. "You play the piano?"

"No. I stopped after I started attending Hogwarts. Not many teachers teach during the summer, and it would have been pointless anyway." The look in her brown eyes was cautious, almost worried that he would suddenly bolt.

"That's a shame." He kept his voice as naturally empty as possible, trying to appear casual and undisturbed by what had just taken place.

"Not really." She shrugged, an awkward movement as she was supporting her body with her hands on the floor. "I never had much of a talent for it."

The staring started up again, except this time it was accompanied by a prickling awkwardness that he couldn't get rid of, no matter how calmly he looked back.

"We need to talk," Hermione said without moving. He was happy to note that her eyes seemed to be of normal proportion in her face.

"We will," he said slowly. He had considered at length the various ways he could avoid talking to her about what he'd overheard, as to be honest he wasn't sure it was something he wanted to discuss. He had decided, in the end, that he should listen to what she had to say if only because he would no doubt always wonder what she would have said. And also because a part of him was hoping against hope that what he had heard was wrong.

Hermione slowly got to her feet, ignoring the dust on her robes in favor of stepping forward and looking at him earnestly. "Look, I-" Her confidence faltered when she looked into his eyes, her own clouding with apprehension. "I know what you heard Ron say is-"

"Is it true?" His voice betrayed none of the turmoil, dread, and anticipation building up inside him. "Have you really been lying this whole time? All for the Order?"

"It hasn't been a lie." She exclaimed, her voice rising with conviction. "Even from the beginning I never _tried_ to be nice to you."

"Was it for the Order?"

"I…" She hesitated for a moment too long and he closed his eyes, exhaling. She didn't appear to notice, if her next words were any indication. "The Order did approach me about getting closer to you, yes."

_Ah. So that's it, then. _Without a word he turned to leave, hurt spiking through him like poison. She'd _used_ him. He'd trusted her, gotten close to her, _fallen _for her and it turned out everything he had thought she was was a complete lie. Their entire relationship, contorted though it was, was based on a mere assignment from the Order. A secret mission.

"Please wait!" Hermione grabbed his arm, just below the elbow, and he halted more from the boldness of the action than the strength behind it. "Can I just explain it all first? At least so you know the truth."

"Alright. Tell me then." Draco turned around to face her, startled to see actual desperation on her face.

"Okay." The Gryffindor exhaled once, before beginning. "Before we started this assignment for Potions, Professor McGonagall approached me. The Order needed me to get close to you and stop you from being initiated into Voldemort's ranks. You have a lot of political power within the Slytherin House and they wanted to try and prevent as many as possible from joining."

_All politics. _He resisted the urge to leave with difficulty. Hermione stared into his face which, due to her recent movement, was significantly close to him.

"They created the Potions assignment as a cover and partnered us up because they knew the chances of us making any progress the way we were were slim. The idea was that the Potions would somehow bring us together and the week in between would solidify it. Or I think." She smiled ruefully, but he didn't respond so she ploughed on. Everything she was saying just fell into place as evidence of her falsehood.

"So yes, the Order put us in this situation but I swear I hardly even thought about what they'd asked me to do after the first three weeks or so. Even during that time I was still myself, because I couldn't control how I acted towards you. _Everything_ that happened was really me. I didn't lie and pretend to get to where we are now. And I genuinely enjoy your company, and I'm genuinely going to miss you when we move back to our Common Rooms." Hermione paused and took a deep breath, "I think of you as my friend and I would like to stay that way. Do you think we can…work through this?"

The sentiment behind her words was there and meant well. The intention, however, could not hide the _meaning_ of the words and didn't prevent his chest from turning numb. "_I think of you as a friend._"

That couldn't be right. He didn't want it to be right. _What about holding hands under the table? When we almost kissed in the common room? And Weasley hugging me? She said she would do that to the person Granger really fancied. And she hugged _me. Unfortunately, his own conviction couldn't change the words she'd spoken and he was faced with the painful reality of unrequited affection.

"I don't know." He shook his head, struggling for the right words. "I…don't know."

The only thing he knew at that moment was that Hermione was very close to him, and her eyes were practically paralyzing him, doing funny things to his insides.

"Think about it at least," she stepped even closer and he struggled to keep his hands at his sides, when all he wanted to do was reach out and pull her closer.

"I will."

"Also, I," she looked down, her eyelashes casting spiky shadows across her cheeks and giving him just enough time to look at her lips before she looked up again. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Please don't mention it."

"Right. Sure." He wasn't sure which part of what she had said she was referring to, but he promised anyway. He had no intention of repeating anything she'd said, as he had no intention of sharing anything between them with anyone else.

They were so close now that he felt himself leaning towards her, shocked when she did not move away. He could hear her breathing and was sure he could feel it against his neck. Her eyes, wide and almost hopeful, stared at him.

"I-" He broke off, tilting his head ever so slightly downwards until their lips were nearly touching. Reaching out Draco tilted her chin upwards while he took her hand, stroking the palm slowly. Closing his eyes, hoping against hope that this would not have any negative consequences, he pressed his lips against hers, , breathing in the smell of her hair.

Hermione let out a small noise sounding somewhat like a gasp and then her arms were around his neck, her hands threading through his hair. He had kissed other girls before, of course, but none of his previous experience could compare to what holding Hermione was like. The surprise and pleased happiness that had rocked through him when she didn't push him away slowly ebbed away and was replaced by a hunger that made him want to pull her closer, to never, ever let go and have to face what would come after this.

"Hold on!" Even through the distant, foggy haze that had surrounded him he could hear Blaise's voice outside the door. Despite the slowness of his thoughts, he also knew what would happen. By some amazing feat of willpower he wrenched himself away from Hermione and stepped across the room to face a shelf, just as Blaise opened the door and poked his head in.

"Are you two OK?" Draco could hear the tone in his voice that showed he was trying to conceal surprise. "Harry is back to normal, so I thought I would check to make sure you transformed OK."

"We're fine." Hermione's voice sounded breathless to his ears, and he wondered if his friend knew what they had just been doing. "We were just talking. About things."

"Right." A brief pause permeated the air. "We're supposed to be packed up by 11 tonight."

"I should start packing now," Draco replied, ignoring the short exhalation of air from Hermione's side of the room. Taking extra care not to look at Hermione he moved across the room and stood by the door, raising his eyebrows when Blaise didn't move out of the way.

"Sorry." Looking quite disappointed, and also regretful at having checked in on them at all, Blaise moved out of the way and Draco left, forcing himself not to think about Hermione. For a brief moment he pressed his eyes shut and took a deep breath as all the things he wanted so dearly to say flashed inside his mind.

Then he stepped out the door.

-

-

Hermione barely slept. Her open eyes stared at the ceiling all night, full of the tears she wanted to shed but couldn't bring herself to. If she did, it would mean she was actually losing something. But if she didn't, and she simply lay there, she could convince herself that the next morning would be no different from any other, and she wouldn't have to say goodbye to Draco.

-

-

Despite her efforts to deny what was happening, the next morning swung around cheerfully. Snow glistened outside her window, pure, crisp and white and birds fluttered around, dark shapes flitting across the deep blue sky. When she walked down stairs with her bags, fully dressed, her dormitory mates' trunks were also there. Chester darted into the room quickly enough to let them know that they were not to return after breakfast, as the dormitories would be locked.

If she had made a list of all the awkward moments in her life that she never wished to experience again, this would have been number one.

Draco refused to look directly at her for longer than a second, so while Harry and Blaise said their goodbyes she found herself staring at the floor. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened the previous day. Did he think about it too?

Hermione glanced quickly at him, keeping her eyelashes lowered so it didn't look deliberate. Kissing Seamus had been nothing in comparison to kissing Draco. Even when he'd nearly crushed her to him she had wanted him to hold her more tightly, somehow feeling that despite his strong embrace she was safe in his arms. Seamus had just been gentle in general, without any sort of struggle to hold himself back.

"I told Ron to meet us outside the door so we could go to breakfast together." Harry told her, and she saw his eyes scan her face with concern.

"Alright." She nodded with a forced smile. Dread was pooling in her stomach as she felt each second tick by. Soon there would be no more time to delay and she and Draco would part on these dreadful terms. No doubt the issue would not be resolved, and then the two of them wouldn't even be friends. Blaise said goodbye quickly, pulling her into a short hug.

"Shall we go, then?" Blaise asked Draco, "I've already looked over my room. There's nothing there of mine. The House Elves will be picking up our trunks, so...there's nothing holding us back."

"Right." Draco nodded, "Yeah, I've searched my room, too. We can go."

Desperation seized her as he turned away and she couldn't stop herself from calling out his name. Anything - _anything_ at all - that could stop him from leaving like this.

It wasn't until he turned around, an incredulous look on his face, that she realized she'd called him by his first name instead of his surname.

"I just wanted to say goodbye. Properly." Hermione cleared her throat and noticed Harry and Blaise hurriedly strike up a conversation, slowly stepping away from them. "I know we've, erm, had our differences, but it would be too much of a shame to leave this way."

"Yes. It would." His expression was closed from her and she quenched her frustration, wishing she could read him better.

"Can we..." She was at a loss for words. If she said friends it would destroy whatever the previous day couldn't have been the foundation for, but if she assumed his kiss had been inspired from emotion and not just an instinctive response to an unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation...

"I think we can still be friends." Draco nodded, smiling. It was such a genuine smile that she blinked, before repeating the motion several times when the meaning of his words sunk in.

"I would like that." Her voice sounded breathless and she winced. "I'm sorry about how this...about how this ended up happening. I would have told you. That's not how I wanted you to find out."

He shrugged, a somewhat careless action. She might have thought he really wasn't at all affected by the awkwardness if she hadn't seen the tenseness in his shoulders. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

"Yeah. Of course." She cleared her throat noisily, clenching her right fist in an effort to control her aching disappointment.

"Blaise, are you ready?" The other male joined the blond before her and she smiled weakly.

They turned on their heels and, feeling as thought she was being sucked down into a vacuum cleaner Hermione watched Draco walk away. With each step he took she felt her anxiety and desperate need to do something, to take a chance, to confess everything she hadn't said, grow to epic proportions.

He didn't look back.

**A/N: I've had this written for about a week and a half, but wasn't sure this was how I wanted the ending to happen so I delayed updating. I am satisfied for now. Oh, and in case anyone is interested I posted a Dramione oneshot in October. If you're interested, check it out!**

**Random fact about TI: Originally the ending included Draco being kidnapped and Ron, Harry and Hermione rescuing him from the Death Eaters.**

**Can I just say that the U.S/Canada Olympic Gold medal game made my life? :) So proud!**

**Review, s'il vous plait! **


	35. The Initiation

**A/N: I had an idea about how this chapter was going to go, and how I would like it to go, but it wasn't until I was frantically practising for my French oral exam and this song started playing on my friend's iPod that I truly got the inspiration. The end was a struggle, because there were many different ways I could think of but none of them seemed good enough. The second last part was one of two ideas for an epilogue that I decided not to include, so I put it in this chapter. The other idea I may end up writing and posting as a oneshot to accompany this story, but I currently have no plans to do so. **

**The title is because I like the symmetry of sorts of having the story title match the last chapter, it is relevant, and I even though I like the song I quote, I can't bear to name a chapter after a song with Taylor Swift in it. Sorry TSwift fans.**

**Recent updates: Relaxation Yoga is a Dramione one shot I posted in October, Shatter is a three part I posted in late July. **

_**I remember every look upon your face**_

_**The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste**_

_**You make it hard for breathing**_

'_**Cause when I close my eyes and drift away**_

_**I think of you and everything's okay**_

…_**And maybe it's true**_

_**That I can't live without you.**_

_**Two is Better Than One, Boys Like Girls ft. Taylor Swift**_

* * *

Winter exams came and went in a flurry of panic, late nights and lots of coffee. By the time the last exam was over, most of the sixth years walked around in a daze for the day before full consciousness returned in the evening and celebratory parties began.

The day after, nursing hangovers (though no one could quite remember drinking anything other than some punch) and lack of sleep, the students piled onto trains and said goodbye to their friends for the holidays. Harry, Ron and Hermione each went to their respective houses and then met up at the Order's headquarters the day before Christmas. She was disappointed to hear that Draco had already left to spend the next few days with his parents, heavily guarded, and wouldn't return until New Year's Eve. She often saw Theodore around the house, as he could no longer go home after declaring his loyalty to the Order, but a lot of his time was spent talking to members of the Order and trying to give as much information as he knew, which unfortunately turned out to be very little.

By the time New Years Eve rolled around she spent most of her time eagerly turning every time a door opened, until Harry started giving her pityingly obvious looks of consternation and she refrained from continuing. It wasn't until their New Year's party had been going on for a bit that she spotted Draco sitting in the corner of the room with Theodore, drinking out of long necked bottles with no labels.

The sight of him was jarring, and she halted in the midst of laughing at a joke George had told her. The lack of an excuse to talk to him, other than demanding to know what he was drinking, prevented her from leaving the loud, happy group of all her friends and the adults who had remained there for the night. She spent a large majority of the night subtly glancing over to see what he was doing. When 12:00 hit, she cheered along with the rest and gave Ron a small kiss on the cheek, which she would've done to Harry had he not been embracing Ginny (very carefully, of course, as her brothers were all keeping a careful eye on him).

When he did return he spent all day in his room, or with Theodore. She spent countless nights imaging seeking him out to talk to him, or even Draco looking for her because he missed her. She ended up not seeing him once until they were all escorted back to Platform 9 ¾, during which time she was on opposite sides of the group than him and he soon disappeared into the crowds of students on the platform. Somehow, even when she was doing her patrolling rounds to keep rowdy students in line, she never made contact with him.

By the time Hogwarts was in sight she had given up hope and was trying very hard to keep her spirits high.

* * *

At school Hermione felt like a vital part of her was missing, and she didn't know how to get it back. Every day she would wake up to the quiet chatter of Lavender and Parvati, both of whom were a lot more considerate now they'd all moved back into their dormitories. She would get ready in the bathroom adjoined to them, stepping out of her shower onto the tiles she'd thought she would miss but now felt wrong. The mirror that she could see herself in wasn't encircled by a spiralling silver design, but a simple gold frame.

After she was dressed she would leave her dormitory and walk down the stairs into the Gryffindor Common Room, all red and gold and so unlike what she was used to. Instead of seeing Draco waiting for her, it would be Ron and Harry. And while she loved them, she truly did, she couldn't quench the disappointment that would pass through her. They would all walk to the Great Hall, often accompanied by Ginny, and would take their seats at the Gryffindor table. She couldn't help but glancing at where the extra table should have been, but was now just an empty space.

On certain days she would look purposefully to the Slytherin table, her eyes scanning the students there until she found herself looking at Draco. He was usually talking to those around him, most specifically Blaise and Gavin, who often chose to sit there. Sometimes he would simply be looking at the table, or just listening to the people around them, and she would turn away, feeling like she'd left something behind.

Classes were eerily similar to the way they'd been, but also extremely different. Instead of the different coloured trim on robes being divided on two sides, they mixed freely as the students interacted with members of other houses. In the hallways there was a lot of chatter among members of different social groups, Lisa calling out a happy greeting to Theodore, who responded with a wave and a smile, or Colin popping over to give his Slytherin girlfriend a quick kiss, young Ravenclaws trading study notes with Slytherins in the library, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors walking around the lake, a newfound acceptance of all four houses that had never been present before.

After they'd parted ways the first interaction Hermione and Draco had was several days after they'd moved back to their original dormitories. She'd been walking down the hall with Ron on the way to Charms behind Harry and Ginny, whose next class was across the hall from theirs, and she and Draco had crossed paths. The hallways were packed with students and they'd come face to face in the middle of the crowd. She stopped instinctively, her eyes locked with his and she couldn't prevent a gasp from escaping her lips.

The moment seemed to freeze time as everything else fell away from her. Scenes in muggle movies, and books where the heroine came face to face with the guy she fancied had always seemed so cliché. Yet here she was experiencing one and she couldn't deny that she was feeling sentiments that countless writers had described in their efforts to pack as much drama into their books as possible.

Ron looked over his shoulder at her, a question forming on his lips as the force of the people walking behind her pushed her forward. Her eyes dropped from his face and she moved past him, her hand brushing his lightly. Hugging her text book to her chest she shifted her bag on her shoulder and walked on, fighting the urge to turn around.

"What was that about?" Ron asked her lightly, grimacing with distaste as Harry pressed a kiss to Ginny's lips outside her classroom door.

"What was what?" Hermione asked, stepping into the classroom. They took their seat in the middle row, a compromise between her desire to sit in the front and his desire to sit in the back.

"You and Malfoy in the hallway." He said, flipping his book open. "You had a moment."

"Hey Ron." Morag grinned at her companion and they high fived each other, before he moved to sit down. They delay provided her enough time to focus herself and try to calm down her heartbeat.

"We didn't have a moment."

"What are you talking about?" Harry dropped down into the seat beside her, a happy smile pasted on his face. "That moment you and Malfoy had in the hallway?"

"We didn't have a moment!" Hermione exclaimed, her face flushing. "It was just…I mean, it's a little weird seeing each other, after the assignment is over, and everything."

"Really?" Harry looked doubtful, "I don't find it weird with Blaise."

"Yeah, and clearly Morag and I don't find it weird." Ron gestured between his friend and himself to illustrate his point. "We just high fived. So why would you?"

"I don't know." She felt rather flustered and wished that Professor Flitwick had chosen another day to be late. "I just…"

"We're not stupid." Harry said gently after she floundered for a bit, and Ron nodded in agreement. "We've all pretty much established that there's something going on between you two."

"'All'?" She repeated with wide eyes. "What do you mean 'all'?"

"Ginny, Harry and I." Ron said, slightly red in the face. "We've never seen you look like that, Hermione. And we just want you to know that…" He was clearly very uncomfortable with the way the conversation was progressing. "Well…If you're holding back because of us, it's OK."

"All we want is for you to be happy." Harry nodded a few too many times, his face flushing as well. "If your idea of happiness happens to include Malfoy, than we're fine with it. If Malfoy can give you the kind of happiness Ginny gives me, then we don't want you to miss out."

"Yeah." Ron nodded and a grin broke out on his face. "Except please try not to smile as mushily as Harry. It's really quite sickening."

"I don't smile mushily." Harry protested with a bemused glare.

"Yes, you do. You just did it." Ron rolled his eyes and looked up as Professor Flitwick hurried in the door, murmuring a few quick apologies and giving them their review instructions.

As Hermione flipped though her book to find her study notes she blinked rapidly a few times, clearing her eyes. "Thanks." They both turned to her with smiles on their faces, but said nothing in response, other than Harry muttering "I don't smile mushily," under his breath.

* * *

The first time they actually spoke was in Potions, when they were given a period to finish up their work on the assignment and make sure everything was in order. It was quite awkward at first and she was reluctant to leave the comfort of her original seat and move to his table.

"Have you finished your potion descriptions?" She asked quietly, shuffling through her papers to sort them out.

"Yeah. If you have, too, why don't we just look them over?" He suggested, calm and still and perfect and so frustratingly close to the way he'd been before the assignment, except without the sneers.

"Good idea." Hermione cleared her throat uncomfortably and checked the order of her papers. "Right, so here they are." As they exchanged their work their hands brushed and tingles shot up her arm. "Thanks."

Silence commenced and she focused on his writing, filling the page in front of her. When she edited essays and papers written by Harry and Ron she was always tempted to rewrite sentences and change words and correct everything, but with Draco's she found herself absorbed by his eloquent phrasing. Her quill remained on the desk beside her, untouched, until she was finished. "It looks good to me." She looked up with a smile, which faltered slightly when she found that he had been looking directly at her.

"Yours too." As they passed the parchment back she entertained a sort of hope that their hands would touch again, but he seemed to position his fingers purposefully out her way. "So, how have you been?"

The casual air to the question surprised her and she couldn't help but feel jealous of how composed he was. She was positive that emotions were flashing across her face unbelievably fast, and he could no doubt read them all. "I've been alright." She smiled, nodding somewhat mechanically. "It's such an adjustment. I'd forgotten what it's like not to have my own room, and the noise of the common room."

"That's the worst bit." He rolled his eyes, interest sparkling in his eyes. "I've been so used to only about four people working, but the common room is deafening! I find the library so much more peaceful."

"I agree, definitely. The library has become my refuge."

"I'm pretty sure it's always been your refuge," he said with a smirk. She'd missed the expression so much and now, to be presented with his characteristic expression was like breathing after holding your breath.

"Well, sort of." Her laugh came out a bit more breathlessly than she would have liked, but she hadn't embarrassed herself terribly yet so she considered herself quite well off.

"Maybe we could plan to go to the library together," Draco suggested and she stared at him. Was he asking her out in a slightly romantic way, or was this just a simple study between two friends? "Study a bit for tests and the like."

"That would be nice." Flushing, Hermione looked down and, to busy her hands, once more started shuffling her papers around and making it all too obvious that she was flustered.

"Great. Oh, I found something of yours, by the way." He suddenly remembered and reached out for his bag, digging around inside it."Here it is," he held out a hairclip with a pink butterfly on the end. "I don't know when it fell out, but it was mixed in with the things in my trunk."

"Thanks," she reached out and their hands definitely brushed that time. _Was it an accident? _He looked unfazed and shut his bag again. _The way he kissed me was definitely not friendly. _"It was probably from when we were playing tag, when I was little."

"Probably. You were terrible at that game." He smirked at her again and she felt herself flush a bit.

"You were almost three times my size, your legs were way longer." She protested, laughing. "There was hardly any chance that I could catch you."

"What was I supposed to do, let you win?" He looked so disgusted by the idea that she found herself bursting into laughter all over again.

"I let you win in Hide and Go Seek."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did!" She willed the conversation to go on forever, if he would only keep smiling at her like that.

"Mm, no, I'm just particularly adept at hiding." He grinned, "You're only trying to salvage your pride, but I know the truth."

"Do you?" She asked in what she hoped was a successfully smooth and coy way. "Finally developed your omniscient skills?"

"Obviously." Draco said and smirked at her, "Which is how I know what you're thinking right now."

"Mm, really? What, pray tell, am I thinking then?" For a brief moment she actually felt a bit of fear that he did know what she was thinking, but then rationalized that they weren't keeping constant eye contact with each other and he obviously wasn't able to just fish into her thoughts.

"You're wondering how you never noticed my truly stunning natural good looks until this exact moment." He fluttered his eyelashes at her and she laughed a bit nervously, because she had actually been thinking about his bone structure and the softness of his hair.

"Actually I was wondering if you could tell me what shampoo you use." She said and raised her eyebrows at him in challenge. "That way I'll know how to avoid the overdone look you've got."

"My hair is _not_ overdone," Draco protested, his hand reaching up and threading through his hair. "Nope, silky. Feel it." He inclined his head towards her and without thinking she reached out, running her hand down the side of his head, brushing over his ear and halting just above his shoulder blade.

For a moment she seemed to lose complete control of her fingers, and sat completely still, arm outstretched. Draco had frozen the moment she'd touched him and they stared at each other, quite awkwardly, until Blaise wandered over.

"Aren't you guys _done_ yet?" Blaise asked in a mockingly shocked way, oblivious to their tension. Hermione jerked her arm back and coughed, picking up her quill and then resting it back onto the table.

"Er, yeah." Draco collected all his parchment and slipped it into his book, standing up, "shall we meet in the library tomorrow?"

"Yeah, after dinner would be good." Hermione smiled at him, tucking her hair behind her ear and shuffling her papers together. "Tomorrow would be great."

* * *

"Hermione!" Ginny came bursting into the Gryffindor Common Room, her hair flying in a stream of red. Several people looked up from their homework and watched her dart through the room, muttering to their friends about what could have caused such frantic behaviour.

"Over here," Hermione waved her hand, not looking away from her Transfiguration essay. "What's wrong?"

"Hermione," something in her friend's tone made Hermione look up, eyebrows drawn together in worry. Ginny's face was flushed and she was breathless. "It's Malfoy. And Ron."

"_What?_" Hermione jumped to her feet, feeling as if a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown over her. Had Ron and Draco been fighting?

"They're in the Hospital Wing." Ginny said, helping Hermione shove books and papers into her bag. "Harry is down there with him."

"I can't _believe_-" She beat her textbook's spine with a fist, but it wouldn't fit in her bag, so she snatched it out and held it in her hand. The two girls took off, Hermione's bag slapping her thigh and her book a heavy weight in her arms. After all that they'd been through she was furious that the two would dare fight with each other, and end up in the Hospital Wing, no less.

When they reached their destination Hermione threw the door open, glad that Madame Pomfrey was out of sight and didn't hear it bang noisily of the wall. She was surprised to see that there were five figures lying on beds, but then her own anger caught up with her again, as they were likely innocent bystanders.

Draco was lying down, his eyes shut, and didn't flinch when she entered, like Ron did. Her immediate fear was that he was unconscious, but of course Madame Pomfrey would have been out helping him if that was the case. He appeared to be in a deep sleep. "Ron, how could you attack him?" She hissed, hastening towards his bed with an icy glare on her face. "Are you-"

"Er, Hermione," Harry interrupted from his position beside Ron's bed. "He didn't attack Malfoy."

"Oh, really? So why is he lying unconscious on a bed beside you? Did he attack you first? Because that is a _stupid_ reason-" It seemed that the effort of stopping Hermione before she got into a complete rant was worth it to Ron, whose face was swollen and his left arm in a sling.

"I was defending him," he croaked out, effectively halting Hermione's tirade.

"What?" She stared at him, her mouth hanging open unattractively. The bag she'd roughly shouldered minutes ago slipped to the floor with a loud _thud_, which Hermione ignored. "What do you mean?"

"Those three over there," Harry cast a disparaging look at what Hermione thought had been innocent bystanders, "attacked Malfoy in an empty passageway when he was alone. Ron walked in and saw them, and he helped fight them off until someone heard the commotion and got a teacher."

"They were-_you_-oh." Hermione's face flushed and she sank into the chair opposite Harry. Wringing her hands together, she sighed, feeling quite stupid. "Ron was defending him?"

"Yeah, the stupid git. Fainted before he could even say thanks," Ron said in a gravelly tone, and she felt affection course through her.

"I'm sorry, Ron." She reached out a hand and rested it on his arm. "You really can't blame me for thinking you two had been fighting, can you? So does this mean you've patched things up?"

"Er, no. The reason I helped him was because I knew you would be upset if he got hurt." As soon as the words left his lips Ron blushed crimson, and cleared his throat, which sounded as if it had been sandpapered. "Er, and, y'know, three on one is just wrong. Gryffindor instinct...and all..."

Beaming, Hermione leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Thanks, Ron."

"It was an injustice," he babbled on, averting his eyes so he didn't have to see her overjoyed expression. "I couldn't just, you know, stand by and _watch_ him get pummelled, and all...anyone would've done the same. You, Harry, Ginny, Snape..."

Ron continued to list off names, to Harry and Ginny's equal amusement. The latter moved closer to her boyfriend and he wrapped an arm around her waist, a smile stretching across his face.

A shuffling behind Hermione drew her attention away from Ron and she turned, feeling as if something sharp had hit her in the stomach. Draco looked quite a bit worse for wear than Ron, his face covered in bruises and one of his legs wrapped up tightly. "Is he going to be okay?"

"McGonagall, Dumbledore, Hannah Abbott, Terry Boot..."

"Madade Pomfrey-"

"Oh, good point, Harry. Madame Pomfrey, Theodore Nott..." Ron continued in his goal to list off every single person attending Hogwarts who would have jumped to Draco's defence and Harry shook his head, before continuing.

"Madame Pomfrey said that he could wake up any time. He'll be fine, because they obviously weren't trying to seriously injure him-" at that Hermione snorted, because having your leg in a cast seemed quite serious to her, "and that she'll repair his bones overnight, so tomorrow he'll be good as new."

Unconsciously she dragged her spindly chair closely to him and reached out to take his hand. "Oh, _Draco_."

"-Creevey, Hagrid, Flitwick-"

"Ron," Ginny interrupted him smoothly and he looked over with a goofy smile on his face, leading Hermione to the suspicion that he may have been given painkillers.

"Yup?" His fingers were still outstretched from where he'd been counting in them, though he'd used each hand more than twice.

"You can stop now. We understand." Harry said with an amused smile on his face, his eyebrows slightly raised. "Besides, none of them stepped up to defend him. You did."

"Yeah, well, I dunno I mean I was just doing my duty to humanity and all," Ron then proceeded to ramble and mumble in a way that would have made Kreacher proud.

* * *

"Hey Hermione," Draco dropped his bag onto the table in front of her and pulled out the chair to her left. Her head jerked up to look at him and she felt her face heating up, not only from his use of her first name but also because of the musky scent of _Draco_ that swept over her.

"Hello," she said and hurriedly flipped to a new page in her notebook so he didn't notice the DM she'd idly doodled on the top of the page. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he replied and started dragging textbooks from within the confines of his bag. "Madame Pomfrey let me out after dinner last night, too late for me to come find you. I figured this was the place you'd be at 3:00 on a Saturday."

"Why were you trying to find me? Did you have a problem with the Potions assignment? I have all my notes here, if you need to double check something." Hermione had already begun sorting through her notes to find the good copy of her part of the assignment. It wasn't until he reached out a hand and placed it over her own that she stilled, quite suddenly.

"Because," Draco spoke softly and her eyes flickered up to meet his own, "I like spending time with you."

And then, just like that, he withdrew his hand and started copying out a Runes translation. Hermione blinked a few times, her fingers tingling as if from lack of blood circulation, and then hastily resumed her work, her lips twisting into a smile. Even though she knew she really should focus on her schoolwork, as her usual schedule had been pretty thrown off in the last few months, she found herself instead remembering the way Draco had been angry with her after she'd asked him to kiss her. Could it have been because she had said she would pretend it wasn't him, as Ginny had suspected?

"What did you get for this one?" Draco held his parchment closer to her, pointing the tip of his quill towards the third line. "What I've got doesn't make much sense."

"Let me check," Hermione said, flipping through her homework, and she couldn't help but notice the way Draco edged his chair closer to her.

"So it's easier to compare notes," he said by way of explanation, though she couldn't help noticing he seemed a bit pink in the face. The next few minutes were spend in quiet concentration, during which time Hermione's stomach felt so fluttery she almost couldn't sit still, and her hand was a bit wobbly with her quill.

"So I have a question," he burst out suddenly, and it was a bit loudly in the way a person would speak if they had impulsively decided to speak. "Everything that we- You said that the things you did were all you, but-"

Draco broke off, eyebrows pushed together with frustration, and didn't appear to know how to continue. Hermione exhaled slowly, and then said, "I've never really been able to make myself act a certain way around you. I used to try and act like I didn't care about what you did, but that never worked. Everything you do has this way of getting under my skin, not necessarily in a bad way, and I can't keep myself from reacting. Even if I'd tried, there's just something about you..."

He stared at her, closed his eyes briefly, and then reached out and cupped the side of her face with his hand. She felt her breath catch in her throat and let her own hand rest on top of his, curling her fingers with his. "I thought it would be best if we tried to be friends," he said slowly, "but I don't think I can."

"What do you mean?" Hermione had to clear her throat a few times before her voice was smooth.

"I've tried to deny what I feel for you, but I can't anymore. I-"

"God, I absolutely _loathe_ McGonagall. We've barely started the term and already she's loaded us down with work! It's ridiculous." Theodore's irritated drawl was closely followed by his body, and Blaise, who had a dazed expression that clearly showed he wasn't listening. The instant they'd heard movement the two had wrenched their hands away and turned back to their books, faces flushed. "Oh, Draco, good, you can help me!"

_That_ seemed to draw Blaise's attention to the present, where he looked between the two with surprised suspicion. "Hey Hermione. Draco."

"Hello, Blaise," Hermione said breathlessly, folding her notes up and closing her books. "You know, I really have to get back to my Common Room, I'll see you in class, alright?"

"Bye, Granger," Theodore said absentmindedly, oblivious to the glares he was receiving from Blaise.

Her mind raced as she journeyed through the corridors to the Gryffindor Tower, replaying their conversation, her hands continuously fluttering to her cheek as if she could still feel his thumb, tracing over her skin. The way he'd been speaking- what could he have been talking about if not fancying her? No one told their friends how they felt about them with that sort of language. No, Draco must have been on the brink of confessing romantic inclinations for her. At the moment, nothing could prevent her from cursing Theodore and Blaise, and the ability all people seemed to have to show up at the times they are least wanted.

It wasn't until she was furiously brushing her teeth, toothpaste frothing around her mouth, that she decided she would take the final step. Waiting around for Draco to come up to her and confess, waiting for the right time and place could be the equivalent of waiting forever. Draco was what she wanted, and she wouldn't let simple fear stop her from seizing a chance at something she truly desired.

* * *

"I can do this," Hermione murmured under her breath as she walked to Potions with Ron and Harry the next morning. "I can do this."

"Sorry?" Ron asked, tilting his head towards her.

"Nothing," she said quickly and averted her eyes from Harry's inquisitive look. Her heart hammered in her chest, a deep thudding inside her and she closed her eyes for a second, trying to calm down. The plan she'd come up with over breakfast basically consisted of waltzing up to Draco, asking to speak to him privately and if he refused, to kiss him on the spot, making her feelings all too clear.

When they finally turned the corner that led straight to their class, Draco was leaning against a wall, speaking to his friends. As soon as he saw her he straightened up and strode towards her. Blaise and Theodore moved out of the way, turning to watch his progress.

"Draco," Hermione said with a voice that trembled slightly, noticing that Harry and Ron were no longer at her sides. "I need to-"

No one would ever know how Hermione Granger might have confessed her feelings for Draco Malfoy that day, because anything she'd been about to say was silenced by said male wrapping his arms around her and drawing her into a deep kiss. Whether a shocked silence filled the hallway or raucous cheers Hermione couldn't have said, because in the next instant she had her arms around Draco's next and every single part of her seemed to thrum _Draco_.

For the first time in a long time, with Draco's arms holding her close to him, the anxieties from the last few months and the threat of Voldemort's growth seemed to melt away and she felt that everything would be okay.

"So, exactly where am I going?" Draco asked her as she tugged him up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. She beamed over her shoulder at him and turned a corner, putting them straight in front of the Fat Lady.

"Bear with them." Hermione said, ducking in front of him to give him a quick peck, before murmuring "_Ruag Csatis." _and tugging him into the Gryffindor Common Room. "They just want a bit of fun. It'll be good for you."

"Who exactly is _them_? I'm starting to get a bit worried," Draco said and used his left hand to tuck a few errant hairs back from his face.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Hermione smirked at him and stopped outside a door labelled Sixth Year Boys.

"I'm not sure I like how well you know the way here." He commented dryly, opening the door for her.

"Jealous?"

Any reply he might have come up with was swept away in surprise. The dormitory he was standing in seemed to have been turned into some kind of dimly lit den. The walls were layered with red sheets stripped from the beds, which had been shoved together to make more room. Red light bathed the five boys standing in front of him, all of whom were in trousers and shirts with red pant doodled intricately up and down their arms and faces, likely done by Dean, who Draco understood was an artist.

"Welcome to your initiation!" Ron called out loudly, gesturing him forwards.

"Er, sorry?" He asked, as Hermione hopped onto the bed closest to the group and watched the proceedings with amusement.

"We have to make you an honorary Gryffindor so the time you spend in the Common Room is alright." Seamus said seriously, holding what looked like a cape in his hands. "This is our ceremony to initiate you into our ranks!"

_You're joking._ Draco would very much have liked to say, but he took in the happy, earnest expressions on the boys' faces. The way Hermione had said _"They just want a bit of fun." _The fact that he knew they weren't going to do anything too terrible to him, especially not with Hermione in the room.

"Alright." Draco assented and didn't even step back when the group cheered and began to tug off his robes, leaving him dressed similarly to them but with a green tie. He thought of the people standing before him, of the way that had acted towards him in the past few months and realized that perhaps they had already seen something in him that he hadn't realized was there.

"This has got to go." Neville said cheerily, deftly undoing his Slytherin tie and pulling it off his neck, before tossing it to Hermione.

_Draco had managed to mostly avoid human contact before the funeral ceremonies had started, but someone he hadn't expected tracked him down to have a quick word. "If you hurt her, I will hurt you ten times worse." Neville had never looked so foreboding as that moment, or more welcoming a moment later. "You're good for her."_

"Hold your arms still," Dean set to work with a paint brush and began to trace swirls around his arms in red paint, curlicues linking each stroke.

_About midway through November Draco started wondering if anyone else noticed the way Dean Thomas saw the world. Eyes focusing on the little details- the kind of thing that perfects a picture but has little to do with actual reality. He certainly never had, until the Gryffindor starting trading glares for nods and small smiles. That was when Draco wondered if maybe he was missing something in the details, too._

"You have to wear a cape," Seamus was telling him loudly, and tied the string around his neck, fixing the cloth on him. "It's very majestic."

_"Congratulations, mate." The boisterous Irish accent sported by Seamus was coupled with a knowledgeable smirk. The confused expression that flitted across Draco's face only made him look all the happier. _

"You don't mind me ruffling your hair up a bit, do you?" Ron laughed as he tied a red bandana around Draco's forehead, "Nice. Very sporty."

_The moonlight shone through the windows, bathing Ron's hair with an eerie glow and making it appear darker and less offensive than usual. His face, usually distorted with anger or happiness, remained stoically serious and calm for the first time since they'd both been admitted to the Hospital Wing. "You shouldn't pass up this chance. She's worth it, and she loves you."_

"Trust me, if you get through this smiling, no one in this room is going to protest your presence." Harry muttered to him as he drew shapes on his face, eye fixed on his chin in concentration.

_"You know, Malfoy, bravery isn't just about fighting for what is right." Draco didn't know how Harry knew he was awake, as he was lying in bed, and wondered if the Gryffindor had spent many sleepless nights staring at the ceiling in Number 12 Grimmould Place, too. "It's also about fighting for what you want."_

"Repeat after all of us," Harry told him when they had once more formed a line in front of him and they'd assured him this wasn't a magical vow. All the Gryffindors raised their wand hands in the air and Draco followed suit. "I, Draco Malfoy, vow to act in a way that an honorary Gryffindor should and never revert to treachery or scheming when associating when the Gryffindors in this room."

"I vow to never back down from a fight, even when I'm outnumbered," Ron said when Draco had repeated Harry's words. Seamus whooped in response to the idea and Ron's ears went red as he grinned.

"I vow to treat people well and express all the mushy sentiments associated with the Gryffindor House." Neville said, quirking an eyebrow when he noticed the look of mock sadness on Draco's face.

"I vow to try my very best in everything I do, and to always say please and thank you, like a good Gryffindor should." Seamus had to struggle to get through the sentence without bursting into laughter, thickening his accent and making his words nearly indistinguishable.

"I vow to remain loyal to my friends and family when they need it, because I know that one day I will need them too." Dean intoned and watched Draco when he said it, who felt himself flushing a bit under the intense scrutiny.

"If I do not uphold these vows, I will voluntarily relinquish my honorary Gryffindor title and willingly give back my crown." They all said together and watched him with eyes bright and full of anticipation.

Draco glanced at Hermione, who was practically glowing with happiness. "If I do not uphold these vows, I will voluntarily relinquish my honorary Gryffindor title and willingly give back my crown. Wait, crown?"

"Yep!" Seamus reached to the floor behind him and came up with a sparkly silver tiara, running forward to jam it on Draco's head. The combs scratched his scalp and he winced, but adjusted it on his head and smiled awkwardly. "The final part of the ceremony is when you have to dance ritualistically around the room, chanting 'Gryffindor, who-wa-who.'"

"Really?" He asked incredulously, throwing a look at Hermione over his shoulder in the hopes she would rescue him.

"Yeah, really. But don't worry, we all join in, so you're not alone!" Draco looked at the other Gryffindors, none of whom seemed as eager as Seamus to dance around the room chanting 'Gryffindor, who-wa-who.'

"Well," Draco said, feeling his dignity shrivel up inside him, "let's get chanting, then."

* * *

It wasn't for a couple of weeks that the Gryffindor boys stopped bursting into laughter every time they saw Draco, and by that time Spring had arrived and the weather outside was getting progressively warmer. Hogwarts was renewed with life, flowers growing and bursting with colour, trees and grass a deep green. The cold frostiness of the castle corridors slowly melted away, and a liveliness took over the school that had been missing most noticeably since Pansy's death.

"I really do not think that a person's hair can tell you much about them." Hermione shook her head at Draco, who was smirking at her. They'd decided to take a walk before Transfiguration to get a bit of fresh air.

"Yeah, it definitely can." He replied and took her hand, leading it the nearly florescent blond hair on his head. "Feel my hair. What does that tell you about me?"

"That you spend way too much time in front of the mirror," Hermione rolled her eyes, withdrawing her hand and grinning. "You know, there are therapy groups for girls to go to when their boyfriend spends more time primping than they do."

"There are also therapy groups for guys whose girlfriends spend more time in the library than with them." He retorted, squinting a bit when they turned back to the school and the sun shone directly towards them.

"I do not!" Hermione protested, "I spend a reasonable amount of time in the library. And with you."

"Not enough time with me," Draco murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer. The movement made the two bags on his shoulder rock into his leg and he winced. "Merlin, who many books do you have in here?"

"Only a few. My Transfiguration and Potions texts, and a couple books for reading in case I have some spare time." She leaned on, closing her eyes and letting the delightful smell of fresh grass and the wonderful smell she associated with Draco wash over her. "I can carry my bag you know. You don't have to."

"I do," he said and laughed, the sound coming deep from his chest. "I plan on accidentally losing it somewhere so there's nothing to distract you from me."

"We were together last night!" Hermione pointed out, exasperated, and checked the time on his watch to make sure they weren't late for class.

"Yeah, for a few minutes before all the boys in your grade decided it would be fun to turn it into a group hang out!" He shook his head in disgust, shuddering.

"At least they like you."

Draco slipped a bit on the damp grass and lurched forward, almost pulling the pair onto the ground. "Oops!" He let the bags on his shoulders slip off onto the ground and Hermione snatched hers up, shouldering it with a mild glare. "The only reason they like me is because I danced like an idiot in front of them."

She shrugged in response, "I liked your dancing, personally."

"Did you?" Raising his eyebrows he pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her and pressing their lips together. Hermione felt herself melt and pulled him closer, sighing into the kiss. It was moments like this that she would never get tired of, just the two of them, together.

Regretfully she pulled away, adjusted her bag and intertwined their fingers together. His thumb traced circles on the palm of her hand and tingles shot up and down her spine. "We have to go to class."

"Goody two shoes." Draco muttered under his breath, hitching the straps of his bag on his arm and falling into stride with her.

"Irresponsible ferret." Was Hermione's only reply as the two walked hand in hand back up to the castle.

**Fin**

**Author's Note: I promised I would finish this story before the end of the summer, and here it is. This is the first story I've completed longer than three parts. Before I wrote this story I never thought people would be interested in my writing much less like it, I never thought I could actually finish a story of this length or that I could handle criticism of my writing, or that I could improve my writing to what it is today. All you have to do is find one of my earlier chapters (that I haven't ripped apart with my editing) to see how far I've come. For all of those things, I have the people who read and reviewed this story to thank, so thank you everyone who is reading this right now. :) I will make brief updates in my profile if you'd like to know what's going on with me. Feel free to send me a PM, too, and if you'd like to read another of my stories, check out The House of Hell, which is now my primary focus. :)**

**Special thanks goes to HalfBlood91 and Zarroc who are literally two of the most faithful reviewers ever. Also to Precious Ink, without which this story may not have gotten to this point. And also Silidons, who is just the coolest ever. **

**Thank you again, guys, for making this so worthwhile! For the last time:**

**Review review review!**


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